EOrRRoR
by Zencolour
Summary: The year is 2073. Virtual reality has taken the world by storm and Pokémon is no longer just a game. James was once an avid player until a freak accident abruptly turns his life inside out. Waking up inside the virtual world itself, James quickly learns the repercussions of being uploaded into a computer generated world - and why he might not be the first. Rated T for language.
1. Introduction

**EOrRRoR**

* * *

"_I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it."_

**Marty McFly**

* * *

[INTRODUCTION]

* * *

Virtual reality was supposed to be a fad. The craze would fade away given a few years. At least, that's what all the critics said. Little did they know that within a couple decades the use of so-called 'VR' would occur in every home, classroom, boardroom meeting, and parliament on the planet. A simplified VR was even travelling with the first astronauts on route to Mars!

This unforeseen surge in popularity was thanks to the completely unprecedented technological singularity in 2044 - the advent of the first true Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the name of 'exDEV'. Ever since, runaway technological growth stormed the planet in a previously unimaginable way.

The second true AI was developed by GOKIA, a joint venture by an American and Japanese company based in the Eurozone state of Britannica. The company aimed to design and build the first AI-driven gaming environment - something which turned out to be hugely successful. 'HORIZON' became a universal sensation alongside the release of the highly-immersive SONY 'Dreamcatcher' hardwear in the summer of 2052. GOKIA rapidly developed the procedural generation of different virtual gaming environments to be micromanaged by the AI; before expanding their capabilities into an fragmented universe hosting hundreds of sub-environments. These were sold as real-estate to various game developers to host their own virtual gaming platforms. Today, the most popular is the Nintendo-owned timeless classic "Pokémon".

Leaks from various corporations, including GOKIA itself, have suggested that progress is being made in "uploading" human consciousness into the virtual game platform for a fully immersive experience. Why play games when you could live, breathe, and die inside of them? Although many doubt that the technology is even feasible, raging ethical debates on such a process remain unresolved. However, the surge in popularity of VR only hides much more invasive issues. It's not a question of what is possible - but whether we have the responsibility to manage the repercussions.

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XXX

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:::EDIT LOG:::

[UPDATED 30/05/19 due to some stupid typos]

[UPDATED 01/06/19 due to more stupid typos]

[UPDATED 24/09/19 due to even more stupid typos]

[UPDATED 15/02/20 due to a few formatting errors]


	2. Chapter 1

[CHAPTER 1]

* * *

"_Uh, Houston, we've had a problem."_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

The door slammed shut on the small office. Vibrations reverberated across the floor, bouncing between the walls faintly. A small clouds of dust lifted from the dull carpet and hung there for a few moments. Marie Lovell had made of show of storming out.

Harry Eisenhower tugged at the beige tie constricting his wide neck.

'Shit'

He'd hoped saying the words out loud would have helped somewhat. Instead, it only made things worse. Scratching at his balding head, he wrung his rounded fingers in frustration.

'Shit.' He tried again. 'Shittity shitty shit shit.'

The woman who had just left had once been James's mother. At least, before the young adult passed away over three years ago. She had returned demanding more answers, updates, and threatening to sue them all yet again. The only answers he and his team at GOKIA had were rapidly becoming lame excuses. How many times could you rephrase the same blunt facts that they were limited to? How many times could you tell a mother that her child was never coming back?

They were doing everything they could - but funding was funding. The plug had already been pulled and the GOKIA Jersey branch had two more days to clean up operation. Next week GOKIA would be experimenting once more within the realms of emulation. At the end of the day Harry was a businessman, no matter what he had naively promised over four years prior.

The air temperature was peaking in the midday sunlight, humidity causing sweat to bead on Eisenhower's forehead. Rubbing at the moisture with some frustration, the middle-aged man fumbled in an attempt to tug up his sleeves. Puffing out his bulbous cheeks, he slouched back in a leather chair with a groan.

A lone window behind did little to ventilate any oxygen throughout the room. In the corner, a old steel fan nodded back and forth as it blew gusts air around the room. A faded brown carpet did little to hide a few spilt coffee stains. Although, the floorspace was mostly eliminated by two chairs and Eisenhower's own desk. A mediascreen had been hung on the lime whitewalls, showing the Japan Exchange Group exchanges falling steadily.

Sighing loudly, Harry turned his eyes towards photograph sat proudly on his desk. It was the only personal item he had in the narrow office; An image of his ex-wife smiling happily with an arm slung around a fairly athletic guy. As the years went by, it was becoming progressively harder to identify himself in the fading image.

For a few sweet moments a feeling of calm settled on the small office.

It was whilst Harry was skimming through his email that his personal softscreen flared to life. The audio of a call was sent via bluetooth directly to his earpiece before Harry could deny the request.

'Sir? You got a minute?'

Picking up the slim tablet, Eisenhower swiped a blue phone icon away angrily.

The icon and the ringing noise popped back almost immediately.

'Sir. There is an urgent call from the senator. Should I put her through?'

Eisenhower didn't know who was speaking to him through his tight earpiece. Either it was a programmed artificial assistant, or the new secretary Susan who was taking calls from the floor downstairs. It didn't really matter as he placed his screen down on the desk with a thump.

'Yeah.' The businessman adjusted his webcam, 'Just patch her through and project her up.'

Fiddling with the device, he made sure the camera didn't pick out his multiple chins. This failed miserably, leaving him with only a slim-fit tie to hide the rolls. A second later, and with a loud chime, the wall-mounted TV flashed up the livestream.

'Harry? Ahh...there you are. I got some news for you from the summit. You got a mo?'

The woman who spoke was a rather plain-faced senator from the UK by the name of Kelly Osman. Her frizzy black hair took up a lot of the image as she adjusted her red cardigan. Rusty-brown eyes stared directly into the camera rather than at her own softscreen, seeming to span the hundred miles from Amazonia. It was a look that left politicians quaking in their tan leather shoes. Eisenhower only hoped it was working as well as the money he was paying her with.

'Go for it.' Harry said, rubbing at a patch of stubble on his neck.

'Right.' Kelly forced on a rough smile that struggled to be seen in the livestream. The lighting was pretty poor, although Eisenhower could see the skyscrapers of Rio behind her. The man knew straight away that her feigned joyfulness meant bad news.

Kelly only helped to solidified this insight, speaking quickly.

'OK. The appeal was successfully but they didn't want to buy it. The UN have their minds set and there's nothing I nor the G7 can do to change it. I did my best. Tough luck big guy, the odds weren't in your favour.'

'Shit.' The businessman repeated yet again. 'They're still fixed on a biological workforce? You said everything…'

'Yes of course I made every argument logically possible!' Kelly's anger was controlled, although she had to move away from the camera slightly. There was a few moments of lag portrayed on the TV screen but it wasn't enough to hide her irritation. 'I sold them it from every possible angle. Machinery makes sense and saves a whole lot of taxpayers money. They're just being dicks about it.'

It was clear Kelly was angry at the politicians more so than Harry at the other end of the stream.

The TV screen was small enough that Eisenhower could ignore it completely. His eyes did a circuit of the dusty old chairs, a pile of reports that needed sifting through, and an ancient computer server system which whirled in the background. Leaning back in his chair, he set his hands on his lap and stared at his webcam. Hopefully it would make the senator take him a little more seriously.

'So this joke about _spectre_-class stimulants are going ahead?' Eisenhower clarified.

'They only need to pass it through the high council but those jockey's are so corrupt they'd lick the pol's balls for another million. These guys are going to get what they want. So if you still want to take GOKIA to space...it's going to have to be in a market involving gene editing and creating a slave race. The timescales are pretty long…but they want cheap biological labour in the next two decades.'

'Tell them I can give them sentient machines in…'

'You have nothing but empty promises!' Kelly interrupted, apparently miffed at being talked over in the first place. 'Having human consciousness controlling machines makes perfect sense - but GOKIA have yet to prove they can do it. And nobody trusts machines anymore after what happened with exDEV. Anyways...How's that case with the kid going?'

Kelly stared directly in the camera again. Eisenhower thought she was staring into his soul.

'It's not going great. He keeps rejecting the simulation every time we wake him.'

'And you want me to sell that to the UN? Look Harry. It's been great working with you guys but you've got no ace up your sleeve anymore. I've got interests with other partners I need to protect...and I can't keep ballsing up like this.'

'I understand.'

She seemed to relax a little now that Eisenhower admitted defeat. Her copper eyes softened,

'I'm sorry it's not working out bud. I get where you want to take this but you're fighting the system. You can't stop humans being humans right?' Kelly looked downcast for a moment upon truly studying harry for the first time on her side of the stream. 'I'll pop by the office when I'm back on the continent. Look after yourself.'

'See you then.' Eisenhower grumbled, shutting down the livestream. The TV blinked before returned back to the stock exchange.

Only a moment later and the door opened , a tall skinny woman poked her head around the door. Her eyes shifted around the room as if expected something to jump out at any moment. Sliding in, she pushed her ginger hair away from her eyes and skipped across the carpet before collapsing into a chair. Eisenhower could only watch as his lifelong friend sat bolt upright. She had her legs crossed on the seat under her.

Harry couldn't help but smile.

'Hi Yana.'

'I'm guessing that was Kelly again?' The half-Czech woman cut straight to the chase, her accent catching oddly on certain syllables. 'So they're fully supportive of building a big base in space! But no machine? The UN are getting involved. Something fishy right?'

It was clear Yana had overhead the few minutes of conversation with the senator. Knowing her as well as he did, Eisenhower guessed the computer programmer had been watching through the keyhole again.

Harry nodded slowly, closing down a few tabs of his softscreen.

'Right. Because as long as the UN are running the show, they're in control. The Chinese are practically living on the moon and private industry have the means to do whatever the fuck they want. The UN don't care if they're bending the rules on gene-editing as longs as they're the ones doing it. If they legalise and tax it…'

The balding man sighed, pushing his soft screen out of the way so he could lean on his desk.

'In all seriousness Yana, how well is it going?'

She sniffed loudly, sucking in her breath before holding onto the silence for a moment. Yana studied her purple Dr Martens for a brief moment.

It was with a swift and sudden movement that she whipped out a can of soda. With the agility of a cat she slammed the drink down on the desk between them. Eisenhower flinched back, eyes flicking between the ginger woman and the unbranded can of pop now fizzing on the table. Grey metal glistened with moisture.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then, bit by bit, understanding started to force its way through Harry's overworked brain. Now he remembered! This had been a game they used to play decades ago. Well, less of a game and more a strange thing that Yana did. By now Harry had simply learnt to put up with her quirks.

At that very moment, Yana was fixing Eisenhower with a deadpan stare as if daring the beefy man to respond. He did - though only after a long moment of consideration. Most of it was spent scratching his head and second guessing the woman's expectations.

'Equal exchange right?' Harry clarified. Judging Yana's reaction, that was indeed correct. 'Alright then. What's the deal?'

Eisenhower was surprised that Yana still remembered what his favourite soda was during all these years. That last time he'd had one was...well maybe back when they used to be coworkers. Things were easier then. There was no GOKIA, no AI, and a beautiful wife to go home to. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Yana narrowed her eyes, rocking back into the faded padding of the chair.

'Deal?' She prompted, wanting a more definitive response.

'Equal exchange. You give me Soda and I give you….?'

Harry trailed off, leaning forward but with the knowledge that actually acknowledging the drink would only upset the woman. She was temperamental even at the best of times. Most people working in GOKIA shrugged her off as weird computer coder but Harry knew better. He saw her as the genius she was. Although Eisenhower was the metaphorical brawn behind the operations in GOKIA, Yana was the brains. It just took a little time to acquaintance yourself with her many quirks. A lifetime in fact.

Yana was running nimble fingers through her auburn hair, 'Simple.' she responded sharply, 'You congratulate me at the end of what I say.'

Eisenhower nodded, but the woman frowned, making it clear she hadn't finished.

'And speak to Baba. She misses you.'

The last was said as a whisper, almost hidden under the whirl of the standing fan. Sweat was sticking the Eisenhower's back as he paused for a moment. Of course Yana had to bring Baba into this.

Slowly and deliberately, he picked the drink up off the desk. Cracking the seal loudly, the pressure of the container sparked loudly. Wafts of spicy ginger forced its way into the humid office. Holding the drink out in the air before him, Harry made a big deal of sipping at the beverage. Smacking his lips might have been overdoing it, but he drank heavily. Acid stung at the back of his throat. Weren't these drinks supposed to be banned now? What with the sugar tax.

Slowly, a smile started to form over Yana's face. Like a hawk, she'd been studying her lifelong and perhaps only friend like some snippety piece of coding. Swaying slightly, as if to music only she could hear, the woman unfolded herself. Stretching her long legs out across the floor, denim dungarees lifting above her ankles. It was surprising to find just how tall she was.

'So?' Harry pushed, leaning on her elbows. His eyes watched on tiredly. At this point he doubted there was even any sugar hiding under the sweaters of the beer.

Yana's eyes sparkled.

'I've done it. Well...I didn't do anything. In fact, I might have done something I shouldn't have. It turns out all that paperwork you had about the...never mind. I had a chat with Baba and we ended up...well….yeah... And straight away! Sploosh! Into the deep end.' As she talked, all the motions were also portrayed on her hands and body. Yana's brain worked too fast for her mouth to follow, meaning she let most unnecessary words slip by. Any error was negligible, given how she mimed her vocabulary in a dance-like way, wiggling in her chair.

'He's in! It worked!' She beamed, eyes flicking to all four corners of the room

The silence that met her seemed to stun the woman. Turning her head around quickly, she found her companion staring at her with wide eyes. All the blood had drained from his face.

'What level restrictions did you lift?' He asked slowly, hand batting at his tie in an attempt to catch a breath. 'Yana. You sure…you sure you didn't…?'

Yana's face was stoney.

'This is the part where you congratulate me.' She said flatly. 'We've just…'

'We've lost all of our fuckin' funding weeks ago! That's what!' Eisenhower didn't mean to shout but all at once everything seemed to bubble to the surface. His emotions were set on fire. 'In two days time we're officially moving markets. I had to re-assign company policy which went through over six months back! Following what happened with the economic regulator 'exDEV' awakening and...aww shit Yana. You don't get it! You never do!'

The woman had shrunk. Something at the back of the man's mind told him to stop. But once open, his raging frustration couldn't be put away again. Suddenly all the struggles of the past few years were lumped back onto his shoulders. The words came out without thought.

'This isn't about what we can do! It's making sure we can undo all the mistakes we make along the way. We're playing with fire here and real fuckin' machine intellegence. We can't just…We can't get cocky.'

Eisenhower didn't have to explain what he meant. Since the singularity in 2044, artificial intelligence was real. Not only real but dangerous and capable of shaping human society itself. That alone had created more bloodshed then anyone had thought possible.

A computer had 'awakened' from within the complex economic modelling tool it was supposed to be. Nobody is really sure where the nickname exDEV came from, but the machine mind quickly outgrew it's restraints. The world welcomed the intelligence, only learning later that free information on the 'old' internet was a really stupid idea. A machine that was capable of modelling billions and billions of fast-as-light microtransactions in the global economy learnt everything there was to know overnight. Within twenty four hours the technological world was in ruin. If it wasn't for the independent Chinese trading union, exDEV would have ruined the global economy overnight.

The computer didn't really understand that it was destroying humanity - only streamlining it.

History books claim that it was GOKIA that created Babbage, the world's second true AI. At the time of her birth however, GOKIA didn't exist. Babbage was born from the programming genius of a certain woman called Yana Carrick.

The very same Yana who now crossed her arms and pouted.

'Congratulate me.'

Harry grimaced, dragged a hand across his face. With his lungs crying for air, he pushed himself to his feet. Moving around his desk with some difficulty, the businessman was surprised to find Yana blocking his path.

'You're scared? After all of this and you're….'

Harry was almost tempted to barge past her. There was enough doubt and anger coursing through his veins that it was hard to maintain control. With his teeth clenched as tightly as he could, the man tried to stop himself breakdown there and then.

'You don't understand…' He managed to mouth.

'I…' There were tears in Yana's eyes.

For a moment she seemed frozen to the spot. Then, without warning, she turned and fled. Harry could hear her sobbing as she sprinted for the stairs down to her office. It was rare to find the woman anywhere else.

Harry leant on his desk heavily. He ran a hand through his thinning hair.

'Shit.'

* * *

END

* * *

EOrRRoR (which is simply pronounced "error") is a fiction I dreamed up after reading a few bad short sci-fi stories about AI and the impact of uploading human consciousness to a computer - both for the individuals and on society as a whole. This story joins together a few common themes, as well as introducing my own spin on things (i.e. making it convoluted and unnecessarily difficult to decipher!). Jokes aside, I hope EOrRRoR makes an interesting and quirky read. There are a few nods to BLACKOUT, but this remains a completely independent story.


	3. Chapter 2

[CHAPTER 10]

* * *

_"...it looks to me, looking out the hatch, that we are venting something..."_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

The _Sea Dragoness_ was one hell of a beast. A two-stage giant of a rocket originally designed in 1962, it harked back to a time when people foresaw us living in space and travelling the inner solar system. The over-optimism of the Apollo-era was short lived and the design was shelved. For a hundred years there was simply no purpose for the huge lifting capabilities of the _Dragoness._ The super-heavy launch vehicle was one hundred and sixty metres tall in total, though it was hard to tell from a distance. The _Dragoness_ was everything a big dumb booster needed to be. So big in fact, that the rocket was launched from tranquil blue seas just over the horizon. Better that then leave a crater after each flight from the incredible thrust of the machine.

Harry Eisenhower could hear the ignition from over three miles away.

He barely glimpsed the exhaust gases in the morning sunlight. Already, the rocket was arcing through the sky to meet up with the construction crews a few hundred kilometers above. Similar launches off the coast of Jersey were happening twice a day to supply the growth of the "_Shackleton Circuit"_ orbital ring. The space station would be the first triumph of many for the new independent state of Britannica, or so everyone hoped. It was a matter of speed to ensure the planetary ring wouldn't collapse - both physically and financially.

Harry used the rocket launch as an excuse for a break, gripping onto the railings of the seawall with damp hands. The man was sweating profusely - now reconsidering whether he was committed to keep up the daily exercise regime. Ten years ago Harry would have loved the morning run. Today, all he could do was struggle for breath.

The sounds of waves crashing against the beach did little to calm his nerves.

Grimacing, Harry set off again at a slow pace. The run was anything but refreshing. His feet hit the tarmac underfoot with heavy steps, arms pumping in an attempt to maintain balance. Seriously, how had he lost his fitness this quickly? The sight of his home nearly fifteen minutes later was a like a return ticket from purgatory.

Ending the morning exercise with a cold shower, Harry forced himself into a shirt and tie. For a long time he studied his fraying belt before tugging it round his waist with a sigh. Even the reflection in the mirror looked tired as he shaved. Downing a bottle of orange juice pushed his mental willpower as he pocketed a banana to snack on later. He'd forsaken his love of a large full-english breakfast.

It was a short bus ride into St Helier, the largest town on Jersey. Twenty minutes from leaving his door and Eisenhower was at work. Usually it would take a few minutes shorter, if not for the added security following increasingly populus protests outside the branch headquarters. Bold lettering identifying GOKIA 'Software Development' had already been stained with red paint. Things like that really annoyed Harry. During the sustainability marches of his childhood, wasting good paint would have been a crime.

Passing reception, Harry stuck to his new and improved lifestyle plan by taking the stairs up to his first floor office. He was panting by the time he got behind the familiar confines of his desk. Outside his window the angry hollering from young protesters was nearly too loud to block out. Harry couldn't believe they were still here two weeks later. Did people have nothing better to do but laze around waving banners?

Eisenhower thanked his foresight for opting to run the design and development side of GOKIA. It meant that he didn't have to deal with media facing and all that crap. The GOKIA technology company was fairly small - but it still played in some pretty impressive markets. Normally that wasn't anything to worry about. Well, not until a certain Mr and Mrs Lovell went public with their court case and declared a media war against the company.

In hindsight, pushing for human _uploaders_ wasn't such a great idea. Not in a post-exDEV society.

GOKIA was under tight security to prevent any accidental leaks from inside to further taint their reputation. The company didn't need any more miscalculations to add fuel to the fire. Harry was just glad they had taken it out of his hands three months ago.

Picking up his tablet, Harry Eisenhower flicked through the morning messages before opening the news panel for any changes over the past twelve hours. Only yesterday GOKIA had yet another upset following the crash of the Minecraft sub-environment. It wasn't entirely unexpected given their recent collaboration with Mojang developing upgrades. A patch had been out in a matter of hours and the gaming community was back into their cubic version of virtual reality.

The remaining alerts that popped up were to do with James Lovell himself. Harry had been putting together a complete file on the case to inform other members of GOKIA prior to media confrontations. Thanks to a rather sloppy email leak in their Rotterdam office, the world knew that James had accepted the virtual environment - becoming the first ever uploaded human consciousness. Not only was he responsive but enthusiastically immersing himself in a computer generated world. That had made the headlines for a few weeks. For GOKIA investors it was a dream come true - if it had happened three years prior. _And _if it hadn't involved a car crash and the death of a promising young teenager.

Tabloids usually missed out that last bit.

The fact that GOKIA had all their major offices within Britannica might not have been a good idea. Already one shareholder had sued for conflict of interest. If the Musk foundation (owners of Neuralink) hadn't stepped in, things would have gone very differently. GOKIA had indirectly supported the expansion of the new space-faring nation into low earth orbit for years. Suddenly that was no longer acceptable.

Sighing heavily, Harry opened his voicemail to find a message flashing brightly. Prodding at the screen with a finger, the chief executive of GOKIA listened to the playback.

It was only when the email subject description flashed onto the screen that his interest spiked.

A small hiss announced the start of the message

'_Oh Hi Harry. Corey Here. Guess you're not in at the moment. I know it's been a few months now but I hope that you're weathering this media onslaught...and that this new project with world modelling is going alright. I'm not going to try and make sense of the requests you sent through...but yeah...I found these details and had them emailed over. Expect them in a bit. See you round bud.' _

The message cut off and Harry groaned, rubbing at his face. Outside the sky was a brilliant blue and for a moment he could hear a lone blackbird calling outside.

'Right.' He spoke to himself softly, 'Let's get to it.'

Dumping his jacket over the back of his chair and leaving his bag on the floor, Eisenhower pushed open the door and headed downstairs. They were in the process of replacing the world carpet. Somehow the colour scheme had switched from a pale beige to a duckegg blue. Although one of the richest companies in the western world, that money was spent sparingly - if only as an artifact of Eisenhower's own cheapskate nature.

It was only when Harry got downstairs to reception that things improved. Here the room was at least a little more modernized. The large wording of the company GOKIA - JERSEY BRANCH shone in a faded blue lettering printed on Portland limestone. A glass desk in the main reception had only one receptionist who smiled briefly upon seeing the executive. Susan had settled in over the past couple of months, providing a welcome face to an otherwise autonomous system.

'Hi Harry. You're meeting with the clients from Secondmaze isn't until ten. Is there anything I can do?'

He leant against the counter, forcing a poor attempt at a cheerful expression.

'Yeah. Has Yana tapped in this morning?'

'Let me check.' Susan had muted brunette hair that she brushed behind her ears before typing at a keyboard. During the wait, Harry turned to gaze out of the window. Near the revolving doors, four security guards stood to attention in loose black uniforms. Given the ongoing protests, there were also a handful of police ensuring things didn't get out of hand. Nobody had glued themselves to the door yet.

'Oh he we go.' Susan broke the silence. 'Yep, she tapped in at six. Jean's in early as well.'

'Great. Was it just Secondmaze today? I remember something this afternoon?'

Susan tapped away at her screen a few times with a long finger.

'Yep. You've got a HORIZON board meeting through Dreamcatcher from two onwards. There's a note saying it will be in regards to the upcoming court case.'

'Shit.' Harry swore softly. He forgotten all about that. 'Can you remind me of that twenty minutes before or something?'

'Done.' Susan nodded and tapped her screen a few more times. Lifting her eyes to the businessman, she smiled warmly. The expression only acted to highlight the freckles on her pale cheeks. It reminded Harry all too much of his ex-wife. Trying not to think about that particular subject, he thanked the receptionist briefly before heading towards the stairs.

The computer labs were double-doored at the fourth basement level. In part the precaution was there to meet fire safety guidelines, but it was also a method of keeping the air temperature constant. Air conditioning worked to maintain the whole floor at a constant humidity and chilly temperature of only ten degrees centigrade. The supercomputer hard at work needed the near fixed conditions to function. It also kept Yana happy. That was just as important.

Yana's office was at the far end of the hallway. There was no name on the door or anything to announce it belong to her. To be fair, the room was never assigned to the quirky woman - she simply adopted it. For newcomers it made things difficult for a few days.

Harry knocked once before pushing the door open. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the bright orange LED lighting inside.

The sound of computer fans welcomed him, as well the smell of fresh paint and bepis soda. The room was longer than it was wide, with two rows of computers making up around six monitors in total, not to mention a projector screen displaying code on the far wall. There were no windows in the limewash walls, but there was a single pine door opposite. The words "DO NOT ENTER" were scrawled across it in purple sharpie.

Unlike most computer experts in this day and age that worked in front of a wall of monitors, Yana was a little more unconventional. She sat back in her chair with a adapted SONY Dreamcatcher headset resting against her face. The normally sleek silver goggles had been bulked out with numerous cables, a cooling fan, as well as small patches of duct tape. This added weight meant that Yana had to lean back in her cream office chair, Doc Martens up on the desk in front of her.

Where normal people might use a mouse or a touchscreen, Yana preferred to use the eye-tracking software in the revolutionary headset itself. For people unaware of her strange habits, it might be easy to mistake the computer engineer as either dead or asleep.

Jean was sat on a desk opposite and had the decency to look up from his computer.

The young Frenchman sniffed once upon seeing Harry, but said nothing. That wasn't through rudeness, but more to do with the fact that Jean was mute.

Hi Jean.' Harry greeted him anyway and the man responded with a curt wave.

'Is Yana busy?' The businessman asked, dragging a wheely chair over from the corner. He sat down heavily, the seat sinking a few inches before compensating for the unexpected weight.

Jean tilted his head from side to side as a shown of indecision before shrugging.

Harry waited for a few minutes to see if Yana would respond on her own accord. During that time he occupied himself with the sound of Jean typing, computers humming, and a mini-fridge in the corner rumbling as it turned on. There was one message alert on his softscreen, although the message had been sent to his junk folder. Tapping at his screen a few times, he found Corey's dataset and forwarded it to his personal account.

A few minutes later and Harry decided that he had waited long enough.

'Uh...Yana?' He was tempted to prod the woman, 'Yana?'

There was no response.

'Yana?' Harry tried again, this time louder.

Grumbling at the unresponsive woman still laid back in her chair, he pondered simply pushing her onto the floor. However, this idea was disturbed by Jean who coughed loudly. Turning to look at the skinny man, Harry was surprised to find him grinning. Watching in confusion, the mute picked up a empty soda can. Wiggling it in the air for him to see, Jean rolled his shoulder before throwing the can directly at Yana's stomach.

At near point-blank range the aluminum bottle hit with full force and Yana grunted, ripping off her headset and looking around wildly. Her face went beet red as she lifted one hand to massage her belly. Jean had taken the initiative to dunk behind his monitor. Only a slim hand was visible over the computer with a finger pointed directly at Harry.

'HARRY!'

The businessman groaned,

'You think that was me? Seriously. You do this _every_ time.'

'Jean is too sweet.' Yana pouted, throwing the headset on her desk with a thud. Taking her feet off the table, she spun around to face the man. 'And you're early.'

'I'm ten minutes late!'

'Humph.' The woman folded her arms, 'You're late then. Try being on time for once.'

Getting out of her chair, Yana took a moment to brush the crumbs of her breakfast off her dungarees. Satisfied, she unhooked her headset before tying it around her neck loosely. Without even looking, she caught the bundle of keys that Jean hastily threw in her direction. Yana didn't even check if Harry was following her as she bounced over to the far door. Ignoring the clearly written "DO NOT ENTER", Yana stuck the keys into the lock and kicked the door open.

Harry followed her inside, waiting for the lights to flicker on.

'Everything else came through from SONY end of last week. I finished installing it yesterday. Jean is currently testing the interface.'

Eisenhower studied the equipment before him.

At first it was difficult to discern what was what in mass of cables. Taking a step back, Harry surveyed what appeared to be a motion tracking set-up. This was loosely attached overhanging an Infinadeck treadmill with the safety cage hewn off. A headset hung from a pulley system on the ceiling with what appeared to be numerous receptors attached to the headpiece. Everything seemed prepared for full-blown virtual reality immersion. There was even a haptic feedback suit was hanging over the side of the machine. SONY Dreamcatcher branding was stamped all over the material.

'Its...Impressive.' Harry said tactfully, not wanting to tell the truth about the mess in front of him. 'You think it will work?'

'No.' Yana spoke matter-of-factly. She'd bounded over the other side of the room and was tapping away at a laptop hooked up to the machine. A cooling system whirled to keep the hard drives running efficiently.

'You're having difficulties with the Neuralink?' The business man asked, scratched at the back of his neck. He was afraid to get too close to the machine unless Yana started getting over-protective of her handiwork.

'Sure. We've done a full study of the network that's homing James's via HORIZON. I haven't been able to link in any other human. Why the questions? We talked on this last week?'

Yana's Czech accent was strong as she scolded Harry.

'Yeah I know. You think it would work if we got someone with a similar neural oscillations?'

'If we had James outside, it would work. Someone similar? Maybe.'

'What about his brother?' Harry asked.

Yana stopped. She'd been typing away and the motion had ended so quickly that her hands remained frozen in place. Rolling back her shoulders, the woman ran her hand through her fuzzy ginger hair.

'Perhaps.' The computer programmer turned to her boss with her eyes narrowed. 'So you support this project now?'

'Well you've pulled Mojang in as our fourth biggest funder replacing Nintendo themselves. The other lab is cracking on with our emulation plans and already have most Microsoft content online. The big bosses are looking for our next venture and have their eyes on using the geological extrapolation models you've been creating.'

'That James and Baba have been creating.' Yana replied starkly, 'James is the geologist. About time you talked with him. I'll see about connecting you up.'

'Wait...now!?' Harry was taken aback as Yana stepped closer.

'Yes. You have been avoiding this for too long!'

Yana wasn't particularly tall, but was still imposing in her bright purple boots and denim dungarees. A dark expression clouded her face and a slight twitch developed in her left eye. Harry had been working with half-Czech woman long enough to know the signs. If he wanted to avoid another breakdown like last time, he'd have to do what she said. GOKIA couldn't afford another three weeks of cold contact between the two of them. Harry couldn't either for that matter.

Although they'd been working together for near two decades, their relationship wasn't entirely professional.

'Fine.' Harry sighed, 'Let's get this over and done with.'

Yana frowned, 'We made Horizon to have fun. You take things far too seriously.'

'I know. Less of the preaching. Let's get in there.'

The crazy computer programmer pretty much kicked him back out into her office, locking the door behind her. Pointing over to the other end of the room, Yana found another Dreamcatcher and flung it at the man. Harry caught the headset in his chubby hands, loosening the strap on habit to fit around his balding head. Unlike Yana's, these goggles hadn't been gruesomely adapted.

'I'll put your through. He's in Minecraft at the moment.'

'So much for top secret operations.' Harry muttered to himself, pulling the headset over his eyes. The rubber fitted itself to his face comfortably, though it still felt a little too snug for Harry. With the goggles on, no light from the outside world couldn't penetrate. After a few seconds the screen flashed on and Harry was immersed in the loading screen. The businessman turned his head a few times to adjust to the super-lightweight screen placed before his face. A buffering bar used the eye-tracking software to ensure it stayed within line of sight.

'Here we go!' Yana's voice was muffled slightly by the earphones in the headstrap.

Harry was thankful for the warning.

One moment he was sat in his comfortable office chair, the next moment he was falling out of the sky. The illusion was so complete Harry had to remind himself that this wasn't real - and that he needed to breath. The man was tempted to flail his arms as the ground came hurtling upwards to meet him. Resisting the urge to brace for impact, his computerised sprite hit the dirt with a cloud of blocky pixels. Harry shook his head and the world juddered with the replicated motion.

Looking around after acclimatizing, Eisenhower identified the pixelated world of Minecraft. It was a huge biome-like landscape spanning outwards towards the horizon in all directions. Blockish trees dotted a strangely beautiful landscape of flower-dotted rolling hills.

'NEW USER ENTERING THE GAME. WELCOME HARRY.' A retro-sounding mechanical voice announced his entrance to HORIZON.

'Hi Harrry.' A young male voice greeting me and I turned my head to find the person.

The figure approached with a diamond sword in their hand and a strange makeshift pixelated outfit. It was a little imposing to have the life-size character step right up to him, their head tilting subconsciously as they studied the newcomer.

Yana's voice sounded from both inside the virtual world and a few feet away across the room.

'Hey James. This is Harry Eisenhower. My _boss_.' The last was said with a feigned spitefulness which wasn't doing a good job of hiding the real thing. 'I'll transfer you over to a more comfortable location for a chat.'

Within an instant they were transported from the blocky landscape of Minecraft into something that resembled reality once more. Harry had to blink a few times in the headset to adapt to the onslaught of visual information. A few seconds later and the form of James materialised as a skinny teenager in ripped jeans and a black hoodie. His young face grinned widely in the simulation as he stuck out a hand. Harry only hesitated for a moment before shaking it firmly. In VR, his feeling of touch was rather subdued. Inspecting his virtual sprite, it didn't take long to find how much slimmer he was in the computer simulation. It was proof that he hadn't been online in a long time

'Nice to meet you Mr Eisenhower. Yana and Baba talk about you a lot.' At the mention of the AI, James turned to find companion only to find the artificial persona had disappeared.

'Wait? Where's Baba.'

'Uh..' For a moment Harry didn't want to tell the truth. 'She's doesn't show up when I'm in the sims.'

'She doesn't…wait? Why not?'

'It's complicated.' Harry admitted. Jame's eyes narrowed but he said nothing, turning to inspect his new reality. Harry did the same, surprised at just how real everything looked and felt. It was a feeling that never grew old. Upon first appearance their location looked very much like an average city street, albeit remarkably clean. Take another look however and the difference became obvious.

Harry groaned.

'Let me guess. Pokémon right?'

'Yeah! It's the best realm. Epic content, great community...and like, actual Pokémon! The worldbuilding is a little poor at times but I guess our work with Mojang will help with that. The topography is a little off at times...'

White fluffy clouds scudded across a bright blue sky overhead, the sun shining merrily on the wide street. Beach trees lines each side of the boulevard, with small independent shops tucked away between residential housing and gyms. A few people wandered the pavement and at this stage it was hard to tell who were actual gamers and who were NPCs.

The most startling thing were the Pokémon themselves. These were only semi-realistic but seemed to come alive in the game environment. A Lucario mooched across the road, window shopping with a hessian satchel. Opposite walked a trainer with a cyndaquil perched on her shoulder. The fire Pokémon eyed me as they passed by. The world was so complete that a flock of Pidgey even flew overhead, calling out across the sounds of traffic and businesses hard at work.

In nearly all respects, HORIZON was a program that made a perfect version of reality.

James saw things a bit differently. For someone actually living inside the games themselves, it was no wonder he was starting to pick up flaws. The computer generated version had become his reality. And he'd mentioned issues in the topography - of all things!

Harry was embarrassed at just how uneasy that thought made him feel.

They walked down the street for a minute, the businessman subtly watching the teenager out of the corner of his eye. Harry wasn't studying the boy as such, it was more of an assessment. In truth, the older man wasn't sure he could trust the image that Babbage was showing him.

Eisenhower heaved out a sigh in the VR headset, not sure if it registered in the computer.

'So. World-building?' he asked softly,

'Yep. Like the actual environment itself.' James reiterated excitedly, turning to the older man. 'The textures are crap in natural environments, especially the natural landscape. Everything Is basically soil on granite with a few hills and that's it. You've got loose sand in places settled at angles over thirty degrees. It's jarring.'

'You're a geologist right?' Harry asked, making an effort to highlight the present tense in the question. That was something he'd encouraged Yana and anybody else dealing with the project to adopt. It was too easy to think of James as being disconnected from the real world. However, given his talents and enthusiasm with proving that he wasn't really dead, the kid was surprisingly helpful.

'Sure am. I did geography and sustainable geoscience for my A-levels'

'You know you're shit then.'

James openly laughed, reddening slightly at the backhanded compliment.

'Yeah I guess I do. I don't want to be a dick about it but you could do with a lot more improvements in that field. You can't just stick granite everywhere!'

'We're getting there.' Harry agreed wistfully, gazing across the cityscape. Even though he was still sat in Yana's office, it felt a world away. The images painted before his eyes made everything appear far too real. Sounds and scents were also being processed through the mask, the latest addition to Dreamcatcher. Scents of diesel, coffee, and fresh bread was somehow homely.

James's adjusted his cap, sticking his hands into his pockets.

'So what's the plan with all this.' The teenager nodded down the street. A couple of block away a Machamp was guiding traffic. Turning his eyes to Harry, James was surprised to find the man watching him intently.

Harry looked away quickly before clearing his throat.

'Well. With HORIZON we hope to get more playable environments up from older game formats. The long term plans is for better immersion. And, well...for you. Uh, make sure you enjoy yourself. The HORIZON platform was built for gaming after all.'

'It's hard to believe what's happened sometimes.' James admitted softly,

'Don't you worry...we all feel the same way.' Harry laughed roughly, going to scratch at his eyes before forgetting the mask was in the way. 'It opens up a lot of questions which we realise people aren't really ready for.'

'Huh. They're not the ones living it.'

The boy eyed an Ampharos walking over the street with their trainer.

'And? What you think?'

James's mouth dropped open. Turning to Harry sharply, it was hard to tell whether the boy was disgusted or elated.

'Well, finally! You know how long I've been waiting for that question? It's like Yana, Mark, and even Baba have been too afraid to ask. Given that I'm effectively dead and stuck inside a simulation, people don't seem to be talking about it much. It's all about _whose_ enjoying virtual reality, not _how_ he's enjoying it.'

Harry laughed again, finding the boy's sincere rant somehow incredibly amusing.

'What!?' James demanded, stopping to cross his arms.

'I'm sorry.' The businessman had to blink the tears out of his eyes, 'Please go ahead.'

'It's not what I expected…' He huffed, rolling his shoulders, 'But then I didn't expect to wake up inside a computer. It's not that different to reality I guess, except _virtual _reality can be nearly anything imaginable. So that's pretty rad. Though, I still haven't got around to being a Pokémon trainer…'

For a moment James swept his vision across the landscape in front of him.

'To be honest, I try not to think about my situation too logically. It's a bit crazy.' He admitted at last, lowering his tone. 'Hanging out with Baba has been cool….though I guess sometimes it's hard to separate where I stop and all the computer stuff begins. It's like being in a dream.'

'Good analogy.' Harry agreed 'You're basically a living proof of idealism. Beiser would've loved this shit.'

Upon seeing James's blank face, the man felt the need to explain himself.

'The virtual world is immaterial but does that make it any less valid?'

James shrugged, apparently not one for philosophical discussions.

'Yana told me you're the person who started GOKIA with her, and the one pushing for uploading. It was something to do with having robots in space? Is that related to the ESA project?'

'JAXA actually.' Harry explained, using the acronym for the Japanese space program, 'Yeah Yana pretty much built Horizon and designed Baba, though we started GOKIA together back in the day. With the expansion of industry into space, I tried to sell the application of uploaded-humans organising robotic missions to the UN. But nobody trusts machines anymore - even ones under human control. You're the first _uploader_ and unless anything changes, it might stay that way for a while.'

They continued walking, passing a train station which was rapidly filling with passengers. A small flock of Pikipeks were chattering on the tiled roof. Many of the public were young adults, and at least half of them were Pokémon trainers. They were easy to spot due to multi-coloured Pokeballs visible on their belts - not to mention how they tried to avoid catching each other's eyes. Most wore caps of some kind. Maybe it was a Pokémon thing.

'So here we are.' James sighed, 'A world of pure imagination.'

'That's the slogan.' Harry agreed, 'Though in part you have your parents to thank for that. They signed you up for this. A real blessing in disguise.'

'Me and Mark have talked a lot about it.' The boy referred to conversations with the only other technician who worked in Yana's programming group. 'Do you know what's going on? He said something about GOKIA regulations meant they didn't know I was...well...'

'Enjoying life? Yeah. Things are a bit difficult at the moment. Another court case had just opened in fact. I've got a meeting this afternoon on it.'

James nodded sadly,

Harry studied the teenager out of the corner of his eye. The first _uploader_, James was a normal boy three years ago until a car took him off his bike on a main road. Now he was simply a bundle electrons shooting around a hard drive. Then again, was that really much different to neurons firing inside a brain? Living inside a computer might have been like living in a sandbox version of reality, but that didn't come without downsides.

It was clear that James's connection to the activities of the real world was intangible at best.

'Tell you what. I'll put a file together on everything and send it through. It'll give you some bedtime reading...and you can keep up with what's going on in the world.'

'You can do that?' The boy asked,

'I'm chief executive of GOKIA, I can do anything you want me to kiddo.'

James frowned for a while, clearly thinking over the offer. A long moment later and he spoke up,

'You think you can make me a Pokémon trainer? They've got this cool scheme but to sign up you need...well you need to be 'up top' if you know what I mean. The guidelines are pretty strict.'

'What's the issue?'

'You basically need a subscribed account, which you have to pay for to be on their system. Being a subscriber means I'm allowed to own Pokémon and can buy Pokéballs. To stop multiple accounts spamming the servers, Pokémon link an account to both an IP address and a passport number. Of course, I don't really have the latter anymore.'

The teenager must have noticed Harry's blank expression for he grinned sheepishly before explaining,

'I'm technically dead right?'

Eisenhower let out a sigh, knowing that this wasn't a good time to bring up his parents. The Lovell family were presently preparing for a court case to prove that very issue. Even though the upload was finally successful, both parents were denying the fact. Meanwhile, GOKIA also faced a shareholder suing for conflicted interest. Even the Britannica Government were starting to sniff around the business - anything to throw a few million on top of current taxes.

'I'll see what I can do.'

'Oh and updates would be cool as well.' James remembered, 'Also some first-hand news would be appreciated. Would a digital subscription to The Times would work?'

Harry gave him a thumbs up and James grinned,

'It's not like they can send me a paper copy anymore.' He admitted.

* * *

END

* * *

EOrRRoR, as some of you may have noticed, is a unusual blend of past and present. I'm trying to keep things as fast paced as I can. That being said, this fiction involves fairly prominent world-building and shout-outs to both oldschool and rising technologies. I've mentioned things involved with current VR technology, as well as the Neuralink Corporation (and others) which may need a few google searches. This isn't necessary for the story, but might make some scenes more enjoyable. It also keeps the story within the realms of 'hard' science fiction, a more personal bonus for myself.

For interest alone, the _Sea Dragoness _is a modernised version of the conceptualized 'Sea Dragon' designed by Aerojet in 1962. For this story, launches provide material for the construction of an orbital ring in space, which is an extension of the 'space elevator' idea. Some of you make recognise the same concept from BLACKOUT. The storyline is set in 1973 where (following various humanitarian and political strain) the UK has split with the south of Britain (along with some areas of mainland Europe) forming the new country/state of Britannica. Technology hasn't changed much beyond becoming more environmentally friendly. Everyone carries smartphones, though these are now called 'softscreens' along with anything else that is 'touchscreen'.

Much of the story is set on the island of Jersey, which is a member of the channel islands between present-day France and England. Otherwise, any other jargon is explained in the story itself. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter 3

[CHAPTER 11]

* * *

"_...we're getting an awful lot of static on the uplink now, and we're not reading you at all…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

"_Let's suppose that every night you were able to dream any dream you wanted to dream. Naturally...as you began on this adventure of dreams...you would fulfill all your wishes._"

James's headphones were getting old. The left earbud was notably quieter than the right and seemed to lack any bass. It was barely noticeable, but enough to be irritating. Here he was, living in the worlds very own Oasis, and they couldn't even get him a decent pair of headphones. HORIZON was supposed to be a virtual utopia! At least he could see the humour in the situation. Staring out of the train window, James's eyes darted back and forth across the landscape of rolling fields as it flashed by.

"_You would have every kind of pleasure..._" the beattape continued.

James was old-fashioned when it came to his taste in music, listening to actual WAV files on a small SONY with wired earphones. At the moment, a few classic Lofi tracks were bumbling around his shuffled playlist. Just like bulky MP3 players, jazzhop was coming back into fashion. He'd skipped through a few tracks to find the correct song to fit his mood. Old technology didn't contain predictive algorithms to play what you wanted to hear.

"_...and after several nights you would say, well that was pretty great! But now...let's have a surprise, let's have a dream which isn't under control._"

The book on James's lap had remained untouched for much of the journey. It was a collection of short fantasy stories which had failed to grab his interest. Instead, Jame's mind had been somewhere far away as he gazed out of the window. Iron wheels clickety-clacked under the carriage, beating out a slow rhythm. It was a comforting sound. Leaning back with a sigh, he let his mind drift away. The sleek interior design of the train may have faded a little, but the seats were still something to relax into.

Putting away his concerns regarding his last conversation with Mark, James instead cast his mind forward to the purpose of this trip. Just thinking about it created a bubble of excitement in his stomach. This was it! After spending weeks jumping around the different virtual sub-environments of HORIZON, he was finally going to follow his dream.

Jame's thoughts were disturbed by the overhead speaker. An announcement started with a hiss of static,

'We are now calling at Ryme City. Please ensure that you take all your belongings and bags with you. Please mind the gap between the train and the station platform. Thankyou.'

"_...you can feel yourself_." his music continued softly, cutting through the mechanical voice, '_Not as a stranger in the world, not as something that has arrived here by fluke…_"

'Hey. Kid. This is your stop.' James jumped in his seat, craning his neck to find the conductor making his way down the aisle. The aged man looked a little bedraggled in his wrinkled blue uniform, limping slightly with his left foot. That didn't stop him from flashing a smile before waving the teenager out of his seat. This was the type of service you got on budget train lines. Even in HORIZON, there were some things you had to pay premium for.

Out of habit, James brought up the man's _statroll_. Invisible to everyone else, text magically floating in the air just about the conductors right shoulder. Embossed black lettering with the abbreviation **NPC** marked that the aging man was in fact just part of the simulation.

Scanning the other passengers in the carriage, James spotted only one other VR player. Without the ability to pull up everyone's _statroll_ it would have been impossible to identify them. The computer simulated occupants of the virtual world were just too realistic. A kid sat a couple of seats in front of him had a bio announcing proudly that was a US citizen, enjoyed long walks, and was available as a healer in an upcoming Dota 4 tournament. That was a sub-environment that James had yet to explore.

James grabbed his rucksack and did as the ticket-collector said. Checking his pockets over for his softscreen and wallet, he headed towards the end of the carriage. Already the automatic station-lights were flashing, leaving James to jab at the worn plastic buttons. Only then did the doors slide open and a rush of warm air, noise, and the scent of artisan coffee assaulted his senses. Minding his feet, James alighted down onto the platform.

"_...I'm not trying to sell you on this idea… I'm putting it forward as a possibility of life...as something to think about…_"

Ryme City train station wasn't the most picturesque of the stations within the Pokémon Universe. James had been around Johto and found the big bustling cities like Goldenrod stunning. Ecruteak had been his favourite town, if a little unsettling. He used to play within the second generation environment as a kid - and here he was living inside that very same world. Sometimes it was all too easy to forget that everything was an elaborate simulation. Then again, people had been saying the same about 'up top' for decades.

The train tracks backed onto a newly designed shopping centre, with welcome slogans painted across a mix of glass and concrete in various languages. The platform was busy with people of all ages and nationalities milling about between coffee shops, pasty stalls, and stairs to adjacent platforms. Pokémon were dotted around too. A Gardevoir waited for a train with an elderly trainer stood opposite a rather ferocious looking Gabite. James had to bounce out of the way as a young boy with a Pikachu balanced on his shoulder went shooting past. Announcements for soon to be arriving trains competed with the soothing music emanating from an information kiosk, not to mention the chatter of people and Pokémon. A quick check of peoples' _statrolls_ indicated most were in fact virtual players.

Looking around for the exit, James wasn't surprised to find Baba waiting for him. The woman was studying one of the maps screwed up on the brick walls, shoulder-length fair hair blowing with the warm breeze. She turned as if sensing James approach, a warm smile immediately jumping to her face.

'Hey! Alright kiddo?'

James grinned, pulling his headphones out and killing the MP3 player, 'So this is Ryme City?'

'Sure is. I heard a certain _somebody_ wanted to become a Pokémon trainer?'

There was a strange agelessness to the artificial intelligence. Freckles dotted her pale face which seemed to consist of mostly curves and cheeks, making her appear both youthful and ancient at the same time. She had small lips and a narrow nose which only seemed to emphasise her sunny complexion. Baba was by no means an ugly woman, though her appearance made her seem old enough to be James' mother.

'I didn't realise we had to come here for it!' James joked, feigning nonchalance to hide his true excitement. 'I thought you were all powerful and could just...' James waved his arms through his black hoodie as if magicking up something in the air before him.

Baba sighed and shook her head wistfully.

'Alas! If only it was that easy.'

Her own _statroll_ was different to what James' had learnt to expect. Where normally a list outlining the individuals username, age, role, and a witty comment, existed - there was nothing but a single asterisk. James had become so used to the game mechanics that the lack of such an everyday characteristic was jarring. It was one of the few things that reminded him just who Baba really was.

If the artificial intelligence noticed James's unease, she didn't make it obvious. At the moment she was projecting herself as a short pale blonde. Leading the way through the ticket barrier, only when they were out on the crowded street did she start explaining herself.

'HORIZON is a complex place. Cause and effect still exists...and I can only bend the rules a little. Sheesh. I'm the one who's supposed to keep things in order.' Baba, only a few inches taller than the teenager, shot James a warped smile. 'Besides, it's about time you paid a visit. This place is epic. Pokémon and people living in harmony. What's to dislike?'

Even after just a few minutes walk from the train station, James had to admit the AI was right.

Ryme City was a sprawling metropolitan landscape which had as many parks and avenues as residential blocks. In the virtual world, city planning didn't have to consider the same problems. Space wasn't an issue. Streets could be wide and dotted with large beach trees. Why not? Room was made not just to house people, but Pokémon too...and they were everywhere! Persians mooched down the street with their caring owners. Grimers oozed down the sidewalk alongside street sweepers, emptying bins into their gaping mouths. A Smeargle was painting the exterior of a flower shop in vivid pink hues.

For anyone not used to the HORIZON, the sights would have been baffling. However, it was the people who were the most interesting. In the virtual world, you could be whatever you wanted to be. And boy did the VR players make of the most of it! Hair colour could be picked at random off the spectrum, and clothing was just as varied. Many went for the typical relaxed attire of trainers, or mimicked certain NPC common throughout the Pokémon games. Some looked like walking rainbows in wellingtons. A good half of people were wearing overt baseball caps with Pokécentre insignia plastered over themselves. Why not?

Baba and James took the short walk from the train station to the Central Square. The pavements were bustling as they crossed Gligar Street and headed towards the National Art gallery. Sunshine illuminated the limestone of the grand neo-gothic architecture, common amongst the art-deco office blocks and coffee shops. Baba pointed out some key landmarks, including the fifty-two metre Pikachu Column. James have to stifle the feeling of Déjà vu. It was a prevalent emotion, given the similarities between Ryme Central Square and Trafalgar Square. Then again, London didn't have Snorlaxs blocking traffic or Machokes trying to move them. Nor did it house Mr Mimes in the back alleyways like some Parisian neighbourhood.

'That's the registry office on the corner there.' Baba pointed to an ornate marble building over the heads of tourists. 'It shouldn't be too busy this time of day.'

She flashed a grin which shifted to a slight frown.

'Oh, before I forget! I thought you might want to meet up with Rikola afterwards.' Baba felt around the pockets of her maroon cardigan, the only garment she had on over a white vest. 'And I've got your passport thingy here to show the officials. I'll leave that to you if you don't mind? I just need to make a quick call.'

James accepted the scrap of paper of the woman. It was only when he studied the passport that he noticed something amiss.

'It's blank!'

Baba already had a flip-phone in her hand. A cheeky grin spread across her face, 'Reality can be whatever you want kiddo. Now go and become a Pokémon trainer!' She made a small shooing motion with her hands.

James wondered how he'd become used to Baba's quirks so quickly. Pocketing the paper in his ripped jeans, he ambled towards the registration office. Pidgy hung around the fountains in the square as he made his way up the short flight of steps to the main entrance. There was a bounce in his step as he cast his mind forward to finally fulfilling his dream. What would be his first Pokémon? What would he name it? What region would they explore first?

One step at a time. First he had to officially register as a trainer.

It was surprising just how many other virtual players were doing the very same thing. James even had to wait in a queue for ten minutes before finally getting his papers checked. A bored-looking young man ran through a few questions before coolly reminding the teenager that any caught Pokémon must be registered at a Pokécentre. James was in too good a mood to care about his blasé tone.

A mere twenty minutes later and James was back out in the sunshine looking out across the city square. Pikachu Column stood proud between Pyroar statues, acting as a key tourist attraction for many players. Most people seemed happy to wander across the paving stones with their Pokémon, living out their dreams and desires in the virtual world. Even with the unlimited possibilities that HORIZON offered, many were attracted towards the mundace. Players were happy to explore the welcoming city with the sun on their backs and a befriended Pokémon partner at their feet. A simple but enjoyable life.

Soon, he'd be doing the very same thing.

James let out a happy sigh, pulling his trainer ID out of his pocket and looking at it with a hint of pride. His name was stamped across the top, with plenty of space for future gym badge icons - and maybe even league titles! Now this. This was a dream come true.

'What you got there pal?'

A familiar voice cut into James's musing.

Looking up, the teenager immediately recognised the digital avatar of Rikola. She was the same age as he was, though her online persona made her look a tad older. Whether Rikola had bright blue hair and hazel eyes in real life was still under debate - given that James had never met her outside of HORIZON. The two had bumped into each other the first time he had visited Pokémon sub-environment and immediately become friends. James felt there was a certain AI to blame for that

James couldn't help but beam as he proudly showed off his trainer ID.

'I'm _officially_ a Pokémon trainer! They even updated my status!'

'About time.' The girl by the name of Rikola just snorted, shaking her head for emphasis. Unlike James who wore a plain black hoodie and jeans from habit, she made the most of her virtual reality persona. Rikola looked like someone out of an action-adventure film, dark shades sticking out of the pocket of a brown leather jacket.

'Let me see.' She brushed back her short blue hair and leant forward, squinting at the small card. 'Up to six Pokémon. Wow. You're literally a VIP here and they start you off at the bare minimum. Shocking.'

'Makes climbing to the top all the more worthwhile.' James chuckled. Even Rikola's dry humour was unable to put a dampener on his mood.

'You could have got a better photo.' Rikola snickered, straightening. James took a moment to check her _statroll, _seeing her status as a Pokémon trainer highlighted under the username "RIK0LA" in block capitals. Baba had sneakily allowed James access to some advanced features, meaning he saw Rikola had logged over two hundred days online.

'Any ideas on your first Pokémon?' the VR player asked, sticking her hands in her pockets, 'Knowing you, you'll be taking the old fashioned route back to pallet town to grab yourself a Bulbasaur.'

James had to think quickly, given that Rikola had guessed his plan with startling accuracy. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to his friend - more that he wanted to make a good impression. Of all people to get uploaded into the digital world they had to pick the most average guy imaginable. He literally had the chance of a lifetime to create a new life where anything was possible.

And here he was in ripped jeans and scuffed trainers.

'So?' Rikola promted.

'Not sure yet. Whatever happens, I want to befriend a Pokéball rather than just catching them.'

'You do realise to own a Pokémon it needs a Pokéball right? Seriously, people are known to steal from other trainers.'

I waved off her worries, heading down the steps and across the main square. They had to skirt a few Spanish tourists were feeling the bird Pokémon with scraps of bread.

'Where's The Boss? I thought you two always hung out together?'

'She's busy doing whatever she does I guess…'

Rikola liked to call Baba 'The Boss'. In part it was out of respect, but also because mocking sarcasm was second-nature to the girl. For some reason the artificial intelligence, who was rather protective of her actual identify, had unveiled herself to the teenager. The three of them had bumped into each other by chance in TM store in Hearthome City. Rikola had obviously been a trustworthy character. Sufficient for Baba at least. James liked the girl, but felt a little too vulnerable to open up completely.

Rikola, however, had other ideas.

'So. Now you're a trainer it's time you got a cool stage name! You can't just be James. How lame is that for a Pokémon trainer? We need some more...more _epic_!'

'John Cena did it.' James shrugged.

'Who the fuck's John Cena?'

The boy had to hold back a that was made easy by a rather rude interruption from a tall girl clutching at a bundle of leaflets. Like many other virtual players in the Pokémon environment, she's opted for a baseball cap and a leather satchel. This also appeared to be stuffed with flyers.

'Hi there!' The flyer-girl squeaked in a forced, overly-friendly tone. She must have spotted the pair approach and moved to block their path. James thought that was an aggressive tactic just to hand out leaflets.

'It looks like you're new to the Pokémon Trainer club! Congratulations! Just to let you know that you might be targeted by a bunch of jerks that preach about….'

'Yeah we're good thanks.' Rikola cut through, literally dragging James to the side with a firm grip. The flyer-girl seemed to take this interruption personally, a dark expression developing across her oval eyes.

'Excuse me.' She thrust a leaflet towards them, though neither Rikola nor James made a move to take it. Elegant lettering on the glossy paper outlined the words "_fight fire with fire" _with a slogan underneath that simply read "_**Triggered**_". James didn't understand what was happening. Thankfully, Rikola was all too happy to stick out her tongue and walk on past.

'Don't look back.' She explained as they hurried to mingle back into the crowd, 'They purposefully do this to everyone they think is new.'

'What...what was that even about?' James asked, adjusting the collar of his hoodie.

Rikola sighed heavily, puffing out her cheeks. A few freckles dotted her wide chin.

'I dunno really. Some personal war between some egotistical jerks. It's petty and they make an effort to drag everyone else in. To be fair, the real bullies are the ones playing the victims. It's ridi-'

'Hey there!'

James was so focused on Rikola that he almost walked into the woman. She too was holding a bag of fliers and unceremoniously pushed one towards his chest even as he stumbled to stay on his feet. Even in Ryme City, it appeared there were multiple people out on the streets doing their best to bother random passers-by. This flyer-girl has a painted smile on her face but bags under her eyes.

'I'm just doing a round of visits around Ryme City, hoping to give…'

'Fuck off.' Rikola interrupted rudely, 'Seriously? Why is it when someone turns up, It's always you guys?'

James couldn't form the words, a little taken-aback at Rikola's cold tone. This flyer-girl stuck out her chin before once more trying to force a leaflet into their hands. James pulled up her _statroll _only to find the girl's bio was filled with apparent gibberish regarding sockpuppets, tantrums, and threatening to post personal messages.

'You don't have to feel like I'm making demands of-''

James wasn't expecting what came next.

Rikola moved with lighting speed, attacking with her fists. With a single swipe Rikola took the flyer-girl on the chin and she toppled to the ground. There was no blood in the virtual world, the creators had considered players getting into brawls. That hadn't stopped Rikola. Taking a step by, she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at the player presently flailing around on the floor. A single flyer wafted down to land on her chest.

'So…' Rikola turned to her companion, `You think you can get The Boss to bend the rules so I don't get banned?'

'Depends. Was it premeditated?' James asked. For a moment he stared in display at the virtual player. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled Rikola away and back into the crowd. Already the scene was drawing attention an a bunch of police Arcanine and a few stray security. Somebody was cheering.

'You bet it was.' Rikola grinned widely, ducking her head a little as if trying not to get spotted in the gaggle of tourists, 'I've been wanting to do that for ages. They're a disease on this community.'

James could only guess at the situation.

The softscreen buzzing in his pocket pulled his attention away from their hasty out the touchscreen phone, he clicked the accept icon and lifted the device to his ear. It was difficult given that he was jogging at the same time.

'Hi Baba.'James panted, hot footing it across the square and the street beyond.

'Hi. Uh, I'm just dealing with something at the moment and was wondering if we could meet in half an hour over near the Wharf. There's a few good shops on route to pick up some gear too. Rikola can help with that.'

'Yeah. Cool. See you then.'

'See ya kiddo.' Baba closed the connection. James pocketed his phone quickly, turning to find Rikola walking briskly by his side. She flashed a cheeky smile, before pulling down her shades.

'You know the way to the wharf right?'

'Sure.' Rikola nodded, using a hand on his shoulder to steer him around a food vendor. 'It's towards the south east. We can catch a bus if you like?'

'Let's walk.' James dodged what appeared to be a school group preparing to cross the road. The centre of Ryme city was a busy place and James was glad to head away from the hustle and bustle. He'd have plenty of time to visit the main attraction later. For now, it was nice to wander between the quiet streets of the urban sprawl that was Ryme city. It had been a long time since Baba had left him to just enjoy himself quietly. It was nice to just breath for once and enjoy the world around him.

James and Rikola avoided the main roads towards the Wharf, instead taking a rather scenic route through Tahnti Park. It was only nearer the dockyards that they were forced onto the busy streets once more. Swinub Road was the rat run between the docklands and the city centre. And did it show! Horns honked as pedestrians crossed the roads too slowly for the drivers. Bikes weaved in and out of the traffic as vans sped past. It was starting to make the teenager a little uncomfortable.

It wasn't a long walk to the Wharf. Already James could smell the river. Its presence was made even more obvious by the Wingulls perched on the multi-storey buildings overhead, squawking in competition with a few rowdy Starly.

'We must be getting close now.' Rikola was checking her map on her softscreen, 'It says-'

'**SCREEEEECHH' **

The sound of tires burning up on asphalt made them both jump. James was surprised at his own reactions as he jumped round to identify the sound behind. A lone blue electric car, big enough to be a people carrier, had braked suddenly and finally stopped at an angle on the other side of the road. James's heart was beating madly inside his chest. The scent of burnt rubber stung the air as James broke into a run.

The cause of the accident wasn't overly clear. A driver was clambering out of his vehicle, unhurt but angrily shaking a first at the tarmac. James thought he might have been a little crazy. That was, before he spotted the purple body lying in the middle of the road. The _statroll _of the driver announced he was an NPC.

'Damn thing! Took me off the damn road! Pokémon should know better than to run across the street like that!'

James identified the Pokémon as a Liepard from memory, crouching down next to the creature. The dark type was sprawled across the road, legs stuck out at awkward angles. It was clear that the Pokémon had been hit by the vehicle.

'Please don't be dead.' James whispered to himself as he checked for signs of injury, 'Please don't be dead.'

The feline Pokémon, speckled with yellow patches of fur, was breathing ever so slightly. It's eyes were firmly closed though it's nose twitched slightly upon feeling James's hand run through its sleek fur. At a glance, the Liepard didn't look in good shape. A bruise was already starting to form on its rump. James could identify at least one broken bone in its front leg.

The dark-types sickle-shaped tail was twitching in pain.

'We need to get him to a centre.' Rikola spoke calmly, looking at the injured creature over her friend's shoulder. 'We passed one five minutes up the street. You think you could carry it?'

James didn't bother answering. Instead, he slid his hands under the dull purple fur and gently lifted the Pokémon. At first the Liepard trembled, it's eyes fluttering, before it went limp. The creature was lighter that James imagined, though the feline was notably small for it's species.

'Let's go.' James called, already hot-footing it back to the Pokécentre.

Rikola ensured the driver was fine, holding up traffic as he got his car back into the correct lane. Most players didn't have the ability to identify NPC from players by their _statroll, _meaning that everyone was treated the same in the simulation. By the time the street was back to normal, James was already too blocks ahead of the blue-haired girl. Rikola had to run to catch up.

'Well.' Rikola was panting, 'That was unexpected. You alright?'

James teenager held the Liepard cradled against his black hoodie, crooning soothing noises to the animal. He nodded to indicate he was fine, trying to hide just how heavy the feline Pokémon was.

'You sure? You went as white as a sheet back then.'

The teenager huffed out a sigh, embarrassed at just how out of breath he was.

'Just had a flashback, that's all.'

'Flashback?' Rikola reiterated, 'Why? Have you already been struck with a Liepard I didn't know about?'

'No.' James's grunted, 'But a car? Maybe. Anyways…' He didn't give Rikola time to think about his confession, 'Let's get this poor thing some help.'

* * *

END

* * *

Whilst writing EOrRRoR, I decided to avoid the rather cliché narrative of James waking up inside the virtual world. I did attempt a few different things whilst brainstorming, but decided to avoid the scene completely. It raises a potential existential crises, both for myself and the character. As mentioned in earlier chapters, it took nearly three years to 'wake' James within the virtual platform of Horizon.

The quotations at the start are taken from a piece of work by Alan Watts called "The Dream Of Life" which was used in the Lofi track "Dreams" by Nuages. If the importance of this isn't immediately clear now, I'm hoping it will do later on down the line. As some of you may have guessed, Baba is named after Charles Babbage who was the inventor of the first ever mechanical computer known as a 'difference engine'. Although Babbage never built the computer in his lifetime - working models have been created to prove that his designs did indeed work! There are some great youtube videos on the subject.

I'm aiming to have chapters uploaded either weekly or fortnightly on Sunday mornings (GMT) so that's the best time to check for updates. Enjoy!


	5. Chapter 4

[CHAPTER 100]

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"..._The sunlight's reflecting off the thrusters and whatever debris came away at the time of the mishap is still with us…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

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* * *

Richard had never been to Jersey before. In fact, he hadn't left Britain since getting a small job as a manual labourer in Carmarthen nearly four years earlier. It shouldn't have been possible to get jet lag from the short-flight down to Jersey, but he felt like he hadn't slept in days. The small channel island was a world away from his home in the welsh countryside.

'Whataya want?'

The young man, a former welder before he quit his job the day before, blinked but didn't respond.

'Hey Kid. Earth to Richard.' Harry interrupted the young man's daydreaming whilst fumbling in his pocket for his wallet. Richard reddened at the mocking tone, blood rushing to his face.

'I don't really drink coffee.' He admitted awkwardly, gazing up at the blackboard over the counter. Flaking white chalk listed the numerous variants of caffeine and sugar. To Richard it was all hieroglyphs, or maybe cuneiform. All he ever drank back at home was black tea. The habit had more to do with cultural identity that taste.

'You're lucky. There's not much to it.' Eisenhower grunted before turning to the cashier. 'Yeah...can we get two medium americanos?'

'You want the usual? Milk in one?' The young barista replied tiredly, already turning his back to the two of them. A surge of steam blasted out of the coffee maker as the attendant grabbed two cups.

'Yeah just a little.' Harry called over the desk, before turning to Richard with a sigh, 'Comfortable flight then? An hour from b'ham right?'

'Yeah.'

'The expenses should have been covered. That all came through fine?' Harry slapped his plastic cash to the reader. It was clear that Richard didn't frequent coffee shops as the businessman nearly had to drag the man over to the other end of the service desk. The two waited in awkward silence for their coffee to be poured.

'Money?' Harry had to remind the man. He was starting to worry if Richard was just shy, or spaced-out on drugs. It was surprising just how different the man was compared to his younger brother.

'Yeah.' Richard replied after a sigh, 'Came through yesterday.'

Although on the seafront, the Mooc Cafe was nearly empty but for an elderly couple at the front of the shop. Jazz music played from a speaker in the corner, but it did little to cover the rumble of the fridge out the back. After a short conversation with the barista, Harry got their coffee to go. A few minutes later and the two were walking the last stretch back to GOKIA offices.

Unlike Eisenhower (who was dressed in a rumpled shirt and tie) Richard wore loose grey trackies and a blue t-shirt. After his work overalls, the young man didn't have much choice when it came to casual wear. He'd resorted to packing what remained of his wardrobe, which didn't amount to much beyond a few sweatshirts. Walking alongside the chairman of GOKIA, Richard felt small. Then again, Harry was by no means a skinny man.

'So.' Eisenhower drained the top of his drink, hiding the fact he was slightly out of breath. 'You're James's brother. Get on well?'

'Estranged.' Richard clarified sourly, 'But yeah. It's complicated.'

'I've been dealing with your parents for the past three years. I can only imagine.' Harry forced a laugh but trailed off when seeing Richard's gloomy face. The young man hadn't even taken a sip of his coffee. 'You'll have to tell me later. I've got a full calendar for the next two weeks, what with being roped into this damn court case. I'm guessing you don't talk to your parents at all?'

Richard sighed. He had short cropped brown hair which he itched at absently.

'I don't think they even recognise I exist anymore.'

'Well that makes two of you.' Harry did his best to emphasize the irony of the situation. Either Richard wasn't paying attention, or the humour was lost on him. 'The office is just around the corner. I'll drop you off in the lobby. You know where you're going this evening right? Catch the seven or seven-a bus north. I texted you the address.'

The young man nodded, following Harry across the street and around the bend. Contrary to what Richard had been led to believe, GOKIA was a rather unpretentious. For one of the largest tech companies in the world, their offices were at the back of industrial estate which lacked anything close to a seaview. However, the building had undergone some upgrades with a neo-modern exterior of glass and concrete, partly obscured by a few protesters. A mottled bunch of new-world folk were sat around in the sunshine with banners.

'What are they doing?' Richard nodded towards the group of predominantly women. Eisenhower had to squint in the bright sunlight. Shrugging lightly, he wiped at his sweaty forehead wit the back of a hand.

'Like I'd know. They've been here most Thursdays.'

'I mean…' Richard felt stupid having to clarify his intended question, 'What are they protesting?'

Harry stopped in his tracks.

'_Right.._.I guess you haven't got around to reading the files I sent you?' The large business man practically groaned, loosening his pale blue tie. The welder was surprised just how disconcerted Harry looked. 'You _do_ know why you're here right?'

'Duh.' Richard was a little taken-aback at Harry's blasé tone. It was one thing being scolded by an older man, but something else entirely when said man was four inches taller and twice your weight.

Eisenhower just raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

A few moments later and they were climbing the steps up to the main GOKIA offices. Harry greeted the few police making their presence known near the revolving doors. Britannica police, unlike those from UK, dressed in grey. They also weren't afraid to wear guns in plain sight. Richard didn't have time to feel uncomfortable as he was whisked inside through a metal detector and a quick bag search. The lobby beyond stank of coffee, lilies, and the metallic tang of air conditioning running twenty-four hours of the day.

'Well there we go.' Einsenhower took an inch off the top of his coffee before waving Richard towards the front desk.

'Try not to upset anyone. Don't break anything. Yana likes anything with chocolate, Jean loves bad puns, and Mark...Mark talks too much. I'll see you tonight. Susan here'll help direct where you need to go.'

Harry didn't look back, pulling a softscreen out of his pocket as he headed towards the stairs.

Richard wasn't sure if he'd just been ditched.

Stood in the middle of the GOKIA welcome hall, an untouched coffee in one hand, wearing stained grey joggers he hadn't washed in a week - it sure felt like it. The young man man was starting to feel like this might not have been one of his better ideas.

'Hi! You must be Richard.' The receptionist called from the front desk. 'Do you want to take a seat? I've notified Mark that you've arrived.'

'Uhh...thanks.'

With nothing else to do (and not wanting to look awkward stood in the middle of the foyer), Richard sat next to the front windows. Along with his own sofa, there were a couple more dotted around a small coffee table in the corner. A large blue-tinted window looked out across the road and the exterior of a screwfix opposite. Richard amused himself by scanning the numerous pictures hanging on the lime-rendered concrete. Many depicted dull industrial scenes which looked strangely like rocket launch pads. It reminded Richard of his brother. James had always had a passion for understanding the earth and other planets.

Richard was starting to wonder why he was here at all.

The call had come through four weeks ago from Harry himself. How the businessman had found his personal details was beyond Richard, though it did discomfit the situation. The welder had seen in the news that his younger brother had been involved in some fabled uploading scheme relating to the gaming platform HORIZON. However, the media didn't have much beyond the basics. The combination of few facts, and his own chosen isolation, meant the less he knew the better.

That was the mentality of four weeks ago - before Harry had offered he come to GOKIA to take part in some top secret program. In hindsight, reading through the terms and conditions before he started might have been a good idea. He accepted so quickly partly out of respect for his brother, and partly in spite of his parents. They were currently in Rotterdam fighting with GOKIA headquarters over manslaughter, false information, and everything else they could possibly conceive involving James. Richard didn't find that particularly surprising. His catholic parents had a bad past of overreacting to everything. Sheesh, their stupid outbursts were the very reason his life had gone downhill.

But if _he_ was in a mess, then his brother was in _deep shit_. Locked in a video game? The world debating if he was alive, or if the GOKIA corporation had slaughtered him! All because of a dumb drinking and driving accident. In one sense, Richard was kind of glad that he'd been kicked out of the family five years earlier. It made the regret easier to handle. Because just how different would James's life have been if he'd had a responsible big brother to look after him - rather than a jerk that cared more about that fact he was named after the wrong Beatle.

'Hi. You must be Richard!'

The welder had been so involved in his own thoughts that he hadn't spotted the man coming. All of a sudden, a short asian-heritage male was towering over him with his hand outstretched. Richard had to jump to his feet, shake the man's hand, and offer a rushed greeting all in the space of a short breath.

'I'm Marcus, though everyone calls me Mark.' The man introduced himself, 'I'm assuming Harry has done a formal introduction?'

Upon seeing Richard's blank face, Mark had the audacity to grin.

'Yeah I didn't think so. He's in a sour mood at the moment. I'll leave _him_ to discuss that. For now, our lab's down in the basement. It's where you'll be doing most of your stuff. You can meet our first team, and maybe we'll give you a proper tour tomorrow when the other team are here as well.'

'Uh...Sure.'

Mark beamed, 'Great. Might as well get straight to it then!'

Richard left his coffee behind, following Mark towards a pair of lifts. After rather awkward small talk in the elevator, the former welder was surprised when the lift went down to minus four.

'This isn't some crazy nuclear bunker of anything right?'

Mark laughed,

'Nah. But computer security? Best in the world. Yana wrote some of the code herself I think.'

'Yana?' Richard questioned, having heard Harry mention the name earlier.

Mark nodded, exiting the elevator as the doors opened smoothly. They had to pass through two sets of fire-doors before entering a chilly office corridor. Compared to the barmy spring weather outside, the floor was practically freezing.

It didn't take long to find out who Yana was.

'You're late!' Was the first thing the short, eccentric woman said, 'Harry told me you should be here a fortnight ago!' The words were matched by a remarkable amount of arm waving. Her accent sounded central Euopean, mangled even further by her frantic spluttering of words.

'I…I had difficulty getting a flight.'

Yana waved off the excuse, dragging the man across a small room full of computers in to what appeared to be a back cupboard. She didn't even introduce him around the small team, forcing him through a doorway with the words 'DO NO ENTER' stenciled across in purple sharpie. Richard was already in the midst of spouting excuses as the woman threw him down into an armchair. A moment later and she flicked the lights on.

'Aren't you...you know…'

'Introductions later. First we need to calibrate the SONY. Booples needs time to warm up.' Yana dumped a bundle of strange electronics into Richards arms. 'Harry forwarded the information? Correct?'

It was too late for Richard to admit he hadn't read any of the emails.

'Uhh…'

'Correct?' Yana emphasized, skipping between a laptop resting haphazardly on a pile of folders and some gigantic machine.

'Uh...kinda.' Richard admitted,

'Too late now.' Yana cut through with startling speed, a cheeky grin spreading across her face. One foot was tapping the ground as she worked.

'What is that thing?'

For some reason that only made Yana grin widen even further. Tapping a few keys with overly large movement, she nearly danced over to the young man.

'That!' She picked up the SONY headset from Richard's lap. In one smooth motion she plopped it on Richard's head. 'Is the most advanced virtual immersion device made. Sploosh! Unreleased SONY. _Infinadeck_. Full haptic feedback. The future…' She spun round to wave her hands over a bunch of cables which seemed to be duct taped to a ventilation system, 'Much excite. Wow!'

Richard just stared, worried at the very real chance of encouraging the unstable woman.

'So time to get you in.' Yana announced firmly, in time with a loud cooling system kicking into gear.

'Wait! Now!' The man went to object, nearly knocking the headset off his head. Up to this point, he'd never had the money or mixed with the right friends to even try virtual reality. He was surprised at just how light the goggles were.

'You're late as it is.' Yana shrugged, 'And we can leave it to calibrate and start project fully tomorrow.'

Richard realised it was too late to start objecting. This was what he'd signed up to do. However, the situation was so surreal that he just went along with it. This morning he'd been sipping his breakfast tea in Carmarthen. Four hours later he was in some highly technical bunker with a mad woman who wore purple Dr Martins and a VR headset trailing around her neck.

The whole sequence of getting prepared for what Yana kept calling _full immersion_ took almost an hour. This was the first time the whole setup had been tested, with Mark and a mute Frenchman named Jean coming in to help with the remote communication between the subsystems. Richard got to meet the whole office during the process of dressing in a haptic feedback suit. The material was made to simulate the sensation of touch everywhere possible across the body. It was like dressing in a wetsuit three sizes too small.

Out of all of them, Jean was the most willing to help him wiggle inside.

'Uh thanks…' Richard mumbled, flexing his arms to get the blood returning to his hands. Jean just clapped him on the back, the haptic feedback suit amplifying it to a sharp stinging sensation.

Then there was the fiasco of getting hooked up to the treadmill. It took a few attempts to get the correct height, given that Richard was suspended from the ceiling on a complex pulley system. Yana and Jean had a prolonged conversation over that. Given that both were speaking in sign, it looked more like a dance-off - or a twisted form of Capoeira. Meanwhile, Richard hung limply over a few million pounds worth of kit.

'Ok!' Mark interrupted at last, calling out from across the room. He was leant back with a laptop precariously balanced on his knees, 'Let's just connect you up. If things are wrong with the interface, Baba can stitch it up from inside. Let's check the SONY is talking to the neuralink.'

'Booples.' Yana replied in exapersation, 'We're calling it Booples.'

Mark sighed, rubbing at his forehead,

'Let's just get the headset on Richard.' It was only that he spoke to me directly, 'We're going to chuck you in the deep end and do a full systems check. Things might be a little crazy.'

'Crazy?' Richard mouthed, eyes flicking between the three computer engineers. Their version of crazy was likely to be insanely bonkers.

Jean was trying to contain some rather exaggerated silent laughing. Otherwise, there was no explanation to what they meant by _the deep end_.

_These people are nuts_ was all Richard could think as, with trepidation, he pulled the headset over his eyes. The world instantly turned to night. Suspended over the moving treadmill, padded out in his haptic feedback suit, Richard was completely detached from the world. Even the earphones of the headset muted Yana humming to herself.

But underneath all the fear and anxiety was a twinge of hope. Knowing that possible within a few minutes he'd be able to see his brother once again. And maybe, to set a few wrongs right.

That's when things started to get crazy.

The Neuralink was originally designed to be a brain implant. After a few failed tests on mice, the Musk foundation decided to fund a pad that ran an external uplink from behind the neck. This mimicked the induction of REM sleep, sending the brain into a hybrid state between waking and sleep. It was a condition which Tibetan Buddhists had been practicing for millennia as _lucid dreaming_. Within a heartbeat, Richard's mind was tumbled through the effects hypnagogia and the world disintegrated into a kaleidoscope.

He blinked.

The world came into focus slowly as he trembled, having lost all perspective of his body. Everything felt fuzzy...and kind of wrong somehow. Richard's limbs reacted as if pulled out into strange there was his spine. This appeared to be twitching as if taking on a mind of its own. It was hard to recall how his body _should feel_ but he didn't think everything should be _this _sluggish.

'Hey buddy.' Somebody spoke.

What was most alarming was that his ears jerked upwards in response. The sensation felt too real to be imaginary. It was as if somebody had remoulded his ears like putty, moving them up higher up his head. Even now they twitched at the faint sounds of fans and a computer beeping. Richard blinked again, slowly becoming aware of the sights and sounds around him.

Why was he in a hospital?

'Are you sure he's awake?' A female voice replied tiredly. The sounds of scraping chairs across a tiled floor once again made his ears twitch. Something must have gone wrong with the headset. Virtual reality was supposed to be like a perfect simulation, not this!

Richard tried to rub his eyes, but his arms didn't want to move in that direction.

'See!' Somebody spoke and all of a sudden a face appeared in front of me. I yelped, pulling back in surprise at what appeared to be a huge human head. Two bright blue eyes watched Richard warmly as he flailed.

'I told you he was awake.' The male continued. The structure of the words, even the simple tone behind the voicing prodded at a painful memory in the back of my head. Blinking slowly, I tried to focus on the character only for my face to drop.

No way…brother!?

'He looks terrified.'

Why were they talking to him like that? Trying to sit up, it was as if Richard's arms were too short. Curse Yana and that stupid skin-tight haptic feedback suit! Looking down to work out what was wrong, everything started to fall apart. Purple fur? Wait. And paws too? Yellow fluffy paws? They couldn't be serious. No. _Seriousl_y?

Richard tried to swear profusely, but all that came out was a cute little yaps of the word **'_liepard_'** from his feline throat. _No, no … no._

Since when was he a Pokemon?

James leant forward to pat the feline's head gently, completely unaware of the internal dialogue running through the creatures mind. The new Pokemon trainer scratched at the fur of the Liepard's head with a small smile touching his lips, 'It's ok little guy.'

_No._ Richard thought, _it's really not_. Although he may not have read the fine print, he was under the belief he was here to see his brother. Here to help progress the virtual reality of whatever. The former welder had left everything, including his job, to be turned into a fluffy Pokemon?

But least James was alive!

Not only that but he was smiling. Maybe not for the right reasons but still. Richard had made him smile. That alone made all of this worthwhile. To bring even a touch of positivity into his life after everything Richard had taken away from his brother made it worth it in the end.

'There there bud.' James continued to scratch behind the new feline's ears, 'Everything's going to be alright.'

**'_Lie...Liepard_…'** was all Richard could say in reply.

* * *

END

* * *

This chapter should be the last one introducing major characters, with all the main players now in the fiction. R'Love was also a big help in ensuring the quality of this chapter, so once again a shout out to them for their collaboration.

There isn't too much technical jargon in this one (unless I start talking about Coffee). However, I have adapted the concept of the Neuralink so that it is similar to the experience of dreaming - both for the logistics of writing and the additional comparisons made throughout EOrRROR. I may expand on this in future chapters. The 'Musk foundation' frequently mentioned should be fairly obvious, given the Elon Musk is the founder of the present day Neuralink company. Be aware the usage and description of the Neuralink in this story are purely fictional.

In following chapters, this story will flick between Jersey and inside HORIZON itself. Enjoy!


	6. Chapter 5

[CHAPTER 101]

* * *

"..._I see a lot of particles out there, but a lot of that stuff is still drifting away from us…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

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* * *

One week is a _long_ time when you're living on the divide between two realities. Each morning was the same routine for Richard. He got up at six, ate a rather bland breakfast (involving moist Weetabix), and caught the bus into Saint Helier along with Harry. The older man had made a habit of staring at his softscreen for most the journey rather than making conversation. After hopping off the blue doubledecker, it was a short walk via Mooc Cafe to the GOKIA offices.

Mark was always the first to greet Richard upon descending the elevator to the basement. Yana's office smelled stale like it had done since last Thursday, and had the oppressive silence of a city library. After a brief cup of tea whilst being soundly ignored by the small group of programmers, Richard couldn't wait to get back inside HORIZON.

When Yana finally waved him through into the back room with her VR headset still strapped across her face, Richard was glad nobody paid attention to him skipping across the room. Even squeezing back into the haptic feedback suit wasn't so bad. Mark had taken the liberty to inform him that the tight material helped to stimulate the correct touch response. At this point Richard didn't really care.

Yana came nearly half an hour later to help set up 'Booples'. The system was in fact an offshoot of a supercomputer, one of three which GOKIA had tucked away in the basement. Yana worked with the machines along with a small team of technicians. All of them appeared to be mildly compulsive over keeping the whole floor at a constant temperature of ten degrees - but none quite as intensely as Yana. The Czech lady danced between a number of screens that kept the various components of Booples talking to each other.

Richard waited for a pause in Yana's otherwise incessant humming to voice the same question he always asked.

'Uh Yana. Why don't you just send me in as a human?'

She just shrugged. 'Why not be a Pokémon? Kinda cute right?'

Richard was left hanging both figuratively...not to mention literally within the mass of cables and imaging equipment. The latter worked as motion capture. Apparently being wrapped in skin tight detectors wasn't enough, so the cameras recorded any other body movements the haptic feedback suit failed to recognise. It was only Mark who gave Richard a straight answer. The young Asian helped hook the former welder above the Infinadeck setup with surprising strength. A pulley system moved Richards centre of mass into something the man realised was much more suited to a quadruped.

'Harry said something about getting used to four legs. He's organizing a remote hook up to some robotics which he wants you to try. I guess they're similar…? Who knows.'

'He hasn't told you?' Richard queried, adjusting the VR goggles across his forehead. He'd specifically got a haircut the day before to make the whole operation easier. Working your fingers under five millimeters of electronics and rubber was enough without the weight of a mop of brown hair sticking to the headset.

'Well. We're working on this_ immersion_ setup and brainwave recognition.' Mark explained, 'GOKIA is a big company...I think the dutch are on remote operations? Our team is more to do with VR itself rather than the applications. Harry is the main go-between.'

The young Asian man grunted as he clipped the carabiners into place. It left Richard suspended lightly over the three-hundred-and-sixty degree treadmill with almost no weight on the plastic belts under his bare feet. The wire also took the weight of the Neuralink transformer box (which would normally hang like a backpack) leaving the man feeling practically weightless. A bubble of excitement rose in his chest at the prospect of returning back inside the virtual world. Given the awkwardness of the computer nerds, he couldn't wait to return to the relative sanity of the simulated environment.

'Right. We are go for launch!' Yana called from her position on the master laptop. 'Four hours then break. Correct?'

'Yep.' was all Richard could respond. He felt as much as heard Booples firing up. The cooling fans whirled like small turbines. Even the treadmill jerked a little as the automatic rollers switched on. The last thing to wake was the headset. Richard pulled the goggles down over his eyes along with the built their respective built-in earphones. Shutting out one world whilst opening the door to yet another. Before Richard's vision floated the SONY logo as well as the words "Dreamcatcher 2.0 ALPHA". Only then did everything fade to black.

The sudden mental lurch as the _immersion_ process began was always a surprise.

Richard blinked a few times as he rode the wave of hypnagogia into HORIZON. For a moment he could feel the weight off the VR goggles pressing against his face until, like the rest of his body, the sensation faded. The experience of _immersion_ was like having a lead blanket drawn up from your feet to your neck. All that Richard had left to focus on was his shallow breathing. For a few long moments, it was as if his mind floated in the abyss inside a multicoloured kaleidoscope - shooting flashes of rainbows and exploding supernova like fireworks. And of course, there was the drop. It was always a shock when reality lurched, turned inside-out, and flung Richard back into his body.

Well...whether it was truly his body was open for debate. Richard liked to think of the alternate simulated version of himself as somehow being real. However, part of his brain reminded him he was inhabiting the a purely fictional body of a Pokémon.

Given the events of the past fortnight, becoming a Pokémon was practically normal. Last month Richard was a smalltown welder from Carmathan living from paycheck to paycheck. And now? Now he was some strange test subject for a crazy scheme sinking people into the virtual world...and just because it was his brother stuck inside? There was something slightly off about the whole situation. Yet Richrard rarely got time to consider it. He flown out to a completely new city, working with people he would most likely have bullied in high school, been flung between two different bodies, and now wound up as Pokémon? It all felt like some crazy dream.

Richard settled into the simulation with practiced ease. It was difficult to twist his brain into considering that he no longer had hands...not to mention a tail sticking out from his butt! The first day Richard had spent inside Horizon was mostly falling over and getting used to the cacophony of new senses.

The Liepard blinked a few times to adjust to sudden bright lights. The combination of the headset, treadmill, and surround-sound earphones 'up top' made the experience almost complete. All the Neuralink needed to do was trick his brain into filling the gaps. Add on the haptic-feedback suit relaying the smallest touch and tickle of a breeze running through his purple fur and it was unbelievable just how real everything felt. If the Liepard didn't think about the fact that he was actually a human suspended from the ceiling, dressed in a makeshift wetsuit inside a nuclear bunker - it was almost like he'd been a Pokémon all his life!

Pushing off the fatigue that came with _immersion_, the Liepard yawned and looked around his new environment. His body was curled up into a loose ball. It was clear that the Pokémon had just woken from a nap.

It looked like he was in a mix between a youth hostel and a hotel room. The place was clean yet had the distinct aroma of past occupants. But it was the red and white color scheme and Pokéball polka dot pattern wallpaper gave the game away. The branding was recognisable anywhere. They must have stopped by a Pokécenter.

The feline yawned widely, pushing himself up onto his feet. For a moment he studied the yellow fur of his toes, preening the unruly mess of hair on his chest. It had a habit of sticking up in all directions but the one he wanted. Turning to look down his sleek shoulders, the Liepard couldn't help but purr in delight seeing his tail wave back and forth behind him. Yellow rosettes dotted his brilliant royal-purple, almost mauve fur.

Shaking himself off, the metal tag on the Pokémon's collar jingled. He didn't need to read it to know what it said.

'Hey Bagheera!'

James bent down to scratch behind the feline's ears before tickling at his cheeks. The uploader had befriended the dark-type almost immediately, surprised with the Pokémon's rapid recovery from the car accident. Although completely unaware that the Liepard wasn't a mechanic of the virtual gaming environment at all, it was unlikely James would ever work out the truth. Richard wasn't sure if it was part of the Neurlink messing with his brain, or his natural affinity towards being a feline made his behaviour so natural.

One thing stopping any accidental realisations was the obvious language barrier. _**'Liepard!'**_ was all the Pokémon could respond with, his eyes brightening upon seeing the warm smile across James' face.

'Awwww' was all his brother could say in response as he patted Bagheera's head lightly, 'Did someone have a nice nap?'

Bagheera would never get used to the warm feeling of comfort he got upon seeing his brother smile. It was a look he hadn't seen in years. Not because James's was overly serious (in truth he loved to laugh) but because of the incident that had happened over four years earlier. If being ostracised from his family wasn't enough, he had to upset his brother too.

The Liepard pushed his head up into Jame's palm, as if to make the petting even more enjoyable. Bagheera didn't want to focus on his dark and broken past, but the warm hopeful future he had here. Deep down he knew that somehow he'd been given a second chance to make up for lost time...and he'd been damned if he didn't make the most of it.

Bagheera sniffed around the Pokéhostel room that his new trainer had booked. He remembered something about overnight accommodation on their way to pallet town, but perhaps that plan had changed? James had been on the way to collect his starter Pokémon. Had he changed his mind? Then again, instead of a measly Bulbasaur or a fiery Charmander James now had a fully-evolved Liepard! Maybe Bagheera would be the first member of his team? It caused a warm fuzzy feeling for the Liepard just thinking about it.

Although a little shy at first, James was surprised at just how affectionate the large feline had become. For a dark type known in the Pokédex as a 'cruel' Pokémon, this little Liepard seemed the very opposite of it's namesake.

After wandering the margins of the room, Bagheera returned for more pets from his trainer. James was reading a newspaper on the bed, spreading out the grey pages with one hand. His attempts to scan the headlines were thwarted when Bagheera jumped up to join him, padding across the crinkled paper. The Liepard had overcome any prior embarrassment about his situation and now enjoyed bothering his trainer for attention. It had the same feeling of pestering his younger brother back when they were kids. James laughed openly as the whiskers on Bagheera's pink-masked face tickled his chin.

'Should we go and annoy Rikola instead?' James suggested, 'I think she wanted to explore Viridian city. Beats being hauled up here all morning.'

**_'Leeeiie!'_** Bagheera meowed in response, pulling his ears forward as he nodded lightly. **_'Lieparrrd.'_**

'Great! And maybe we could check out the gym too! We might be able to get some tips before heading over to Pewter City! I think it's time we started training you up…' James trailed off, 'You'd like that Bagheera? Training?'

The Liepard nodded in response, feeling excitement run down his spine. He'd been cooped up _recovering_ for days and wanted to throw himself into his new life. Besides, Pokémon battles looked like an amazing mix of skill and strength. He couldn't wait to give it a try! Just thinking about it made his tail twitch.

James chuckled upon seeing the fervent excitement in the feline.

'Great! I'll grab my stuff.'

It wasn't long and they headed downstairs into the ground floor of the Pokécentre. Walking by James side, Bagheera barely reached past the trainers knees as he weaved in between the other foot traffic in the busy centre. Although the Game Freak environment within HORIZON was usually a busy place, Pokecentres were a major stop-off point for trainers.

Unlike players, which had the ability to pull-up everyone's complete _statroll_, Bagheera was limited to names and roles. It was impossible to tell who were NPCs and who were players hooked-up via headsets to the gaming platform. It wasn't like they acted any differently. In fact, players often behaved more robotically - freezing randomly if their connection became laggy.

Rikola was waiting by the door. She was dressed in her usual attire of a brown leather jacket and was so focused on her softscreen that she didn't see the trainer and his large feline approach. Bagheera took this as an opportunity to scare the girl, jumping up her leg with his tail lashing victoriously.

Rikola however, didn't even flinch.

'Hey there _Baggy_? Or was it _Ra_? _Heera_? _He_?' The latter was said to poke fun at James rather than myself. The young adult chuckled, sticking her screen back in her pocket. 'Since when do we give Pokémon weird archaic names?' It was almost like Rikola was ignoring me completely.

James crossed his arms over the top of his plain black hoodie, 'It's not archaic...it's…'

'I'm teasing you.' Rikola waved off the stuttering teenager, 'You fancy a gander?'

There was a slight tang to her words that made the teenager's accent hard to place. Rikola always had a dry sense of humour and a habit of emphasizing the consonants in words. To Bagheera, it sounded like the americanised english was in fact her second language.

'You mind if I join?'

Bagheera's ears pricked up at the unexpected speaker. His head snapped to the side, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Baba squeezing through the crowd. The artificial intelligence was dressed like in her signature a maroon cardigan. It barely stood out amongst the myriad of colours and clothing styles worn by many virtual players. A thin smile graced Baba's ageless face and small freckles dotter her cheeks. It gave her a rather mothering look.

'Oh! Hi Baba.' James greeted the AI, 'How's it going?'

'Same old,' The angelic woman shrugged her narrow shoulders, 'Connectivity issues with the Spyro environment was actually due to feedback from the Activision guys trying to update three systems at once. Took me ages to track that down.'

'Wait.' Rikola butted in, 'You actually...you know, do stuff? I thought…'

'You think a complex platform like Horizon can run over three thousand separate open-world gaming environments without maintenance?' James cut through sharply, taking the role as backup for the AI. As if to support his point, I fluffed up my fur and hissed for good measure.

'Yeah. What the Kid said.' Baba genuinely sighed, 'Boy has it been a long few hours. You mind if I tag along with you guys?'

'Go for it.' Rikola and James spoke the worlds concurrently, leaving James in a bout of giggles. HIs blue-haired friend gave him a light punch on the arm.

'That was just creepy.' Baba confirmed, 'Anyhow. Where to first?'

Although Bagheera heard the question, it was as if the environment had fractured slightly. Baba appeared in two places at once. The AI left a ghost of herself behind, rolling her shoulders with a sigh before turning to the Liepard. Like looking through a smokescreen, Bagheera didn't feel like he was in the same environment he was in a second ago. Somehow the AI was twisting the simulated world to have a private conversation with the Pokémon. Meanwhile his double vision also saw Baba discussion something with James and Rikola.

The feline shook his head, hoping it wasn't an issue with the _immersion_ technology.

'How's it going Richard?' The AI asked in complete juxtaposition to what was going on elsewhere. 'I see you've settled in to this form?'

Bagheera tried to make sense of the situation and failed. 'Uh. Yeah.' was all he could stutter.

The Liepard had to remind himself that he actually speak to the artificial intelligence. To his ears, all he seemed to be making the same noises that a Liepard would make, intertwined with small purs. However, overlaid over top of this was recognisable English. The dual meaning made his pointed purple ears itch.

'So you like being in HORIZON? And being a Pokémon?'

Bagheera nodded once more, trotted alongside the tall woman. It was a while before he plucked up the courage to ask something which had been bothering him all week. Admittedly, it was in an embarrassingly small voice.

'Baba? Why am I a Pokémon?'

'Ahh...' The AI slowed slightly, 'I was partly my idea. How should I phrase this…?'

She looked forward towards Rikola and James. The two trainers were talking to their own semi-transparent version of Baba who appeared to be laughing merrily. Neither realised that the Liepard and the real Baba had fallen behind. Then again, in a simulation who could argue that both weren't real?

The AI took a couple of minutes to come up with a response.

'It wouldn't have been the right thing for James.' She said delicately. 'I guess you heard that it took three years for the uploading to happen?'

'Uh...Yes.' I spluttered, not used to responding to genuine conversation,

'The uploading was in fact instantaneous. It took that long for his mind to accept the simulation. I didn't take into account the trauma you go through...uh...dying. Not to mention his home life! I had to fix some of his memories and wow Kiddo, don't you have some making up to do! You practically ruined his chances in life!'

If a Liepard could have blushed, Bagheera would have gone bright red. He did feel heat around the pink fur of his cheeks though, his tail drooping automatically. The unexpected reminder pained Bagheera in the gut. This time, he knew it wasn't a response from the haptic feedback suit.

'I know. I...I wasn't the best brother.'

'Yeah no shit.' Baba laughed openly, making light of the situation. Given the regret Bagheera had plastering the inside of his stomach, her light giggling actually cut more deeply than he cared to admit.

'So two reason why you're a Pokémon.' Baba held a delicate hand up and counted off a finger. 'First, you're here to make it up to James. Even after uploading, he's barely had time to do stuff he enjoys. The kid's trying to live the dream of becoming the world's best trainer...and you can make that happen for him.'

Bagheera's ears perked up at the request. That wasn't so hard was it? It sure was easier than helping James be a geographer, geologist, or whatever he used to be into. Even if Pokémon was a little nerdy, it was a million times better than looking at (and sometimes licking) rocks. Not to mention, Bagheera actually got to do the fun bit. He'd be the one actually fighting in the badass fictional battles.

'And two…' Baba paused as if contemplating whether to announce her second reason. 'I needed some extra eyes on the ground. HORIZON is getting a lot of bad press. All it takes in a couple of accidents in the wrong places to lose credibility. You're the only non-human player at the moment. That has some benefits.'

'I..think I can do that.' Bagheera replied, not fully contemplating the nature of Baba's request. The implied danger lingering under her words went straight over top of the large feline's furry head.

'Thanks. But seriously Kiddo, doing this for you brother would make him a hundred times happier than being here as a human. He hasn't really forgiven you for what you did.'

'Neither have I.' Bagheera mumbled under my breath. However, Baba must have cut off the personal conversation. Once again, all the feline heard was a cat-like wimper. Having fallen behind his trainer, the Liepard fell into a graceful jog to catch up.

The four of them made the most of wandering through Viridian city. It was a green place with lots of parks and pretty flower beds dotted shop corners. There was even bunting on the road towards the main high street. Bagheera marveled at a number of stalls set up down the central boulevard. Many were selling rare items at extortionate prices, with both players or NPCs bustling to get a look. At the far end of the market, a bald man was waving his hands at a vandalised cart. A sign offering tutorials on how to catch Pokémon had graffiti sprayed across it with the bleak word _Missingno_.

Baba made eye contact and nodded in the man's direction. Already police had come to the scene. Maybe this was what she meant by _accidents_.

'You ok down there buddy?' James asked the Liepard upon noticing him slow, 'Not getting tired are we?'

'James. It's a Pokémon. They don't get tired.' Rikola explained in a way that felt a little patronising. Bagheera had shook his head anyways, though James hadn't seen the small motion.

'Well he looks tired!' The teenager was firm, 'Although you might be small for your species, you're still too big to carry. We could have a break?'

James spoke directly to Bagheera, involving him in the conversation. The leopard-like Pokémon blinked slowly, waving his tail in response. He wasn't actually very tired at all, just a little sad now he'd been reminded of his true past. HORIZON had been a place to escape from himself, but he'd realised that this reality was another side to the same coin. Cause and effect didn't break down in the simulated world.

'How about a Pokéball?' Baba suggested warmly, 'Although he's registered, you haven't technically caught him yet. It'll make healing easier.'

'He wasn't very happy when I tried last time.'

'Well maybe this time will be different.' Baba replied, emphasising the words while giving Bagheera a cheeky grin.

_**'Liepard!'** _The Pokémon quickly agreed, reminded of the AI's true intentions.

'Wow. Ok then.' James shrugged his backpack across his shoulders, 'I guess first stop is the Pokemart then.'

'And then the training field. Braixen will enjoy a new challenge.' Rikola added quickly, grinning wolfishly under her mop of blue hair.

'You're on! Bagheera will beat you any day!'

Rikola sniggered, 'A level fourteen Liepard against a level twenty-five fire type? You're gotta be kidding.'

By the way that James stuck his chin out, Rikola quickly realised he wasn't. There was bright and fierce intelligence shining behind the teenager's eyes. He'd spent the past two days looking at movesets and training techniques, challenger profiles and game strategy. This was his time to shine. Bagheera took the moment to rub up against his trainer's leg affectionately.

'We'll show em right?' James asked his first Pokémon.

_**'Liee!'**_ Bagheera nodded fiercely. **_'Lieepaaard!'_**

There was no running away from this battle.

* * *

END

* * *

One of my main aims in EorRRor is the focus on juxtaposition, with the contrast between Richard and "Bagheera" being the most obvious example. This time the name "Baheera" was nicked from Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" (1894) in hopes of mimicking Kipling's ability to express human archetypes as animalistic forms, in a similar way to Yann Martel's Life of Pi. The only other piece of random trivia this time is the reference to first generation Missingno glitch.

Also, this fiction somehow become most popular story apparently overnight. It's already over one thousand views! So a huge thankyou to everyone! I hope you like the madness to come. As before, updates will appear on Sunday mornings (GMT) either weekly or fortnightly. Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 6

[CHAPTER 110]

* * *

"_...I don't recognize any constellations right now, in this particular attitude…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

'What I'm _trying_ to say is that it's unnatural! And it's such an easy fix!' James was in the process of getting quite worked-up over the topic of discussion. Scratching at his unruly brown hair, he groaned audibly before turning to his companion. It was difficult to see his frustrated expression from knee-height.

'I don't get it.' Rikola replied lightly, burying her hands in her pockets. 'What's the big deal?'

'Isn't it obvious! Unconsolidated sand can't remain stable at slopes greater than thirty degrees!'

This conversation had been going on for some time as the two of them wandered through suburban Viridian. Apparently, something about the geography and topography inside the HORIZON simulation was all wrong. James had been moaning about granite underlying everything, unusually thin soil profiles, and angular hills for nearly twenty minutes straight. In truth, Bagheera had been only been half-listening. The Pokémon was much more interested in the scents and smells of the city as they wandered down the pavement. Rikola hadn't been listening at all - only grunting in agreement when there was a pause in conversation.

It was another few minutes before she got the opportunity to interrupt James's incandescent geological insights.

'How far even is this training field?' Rikola groaned, checking her watch, 'I'll have to drop offline in like an hour too. Ugh'

'Baba said it's a couple of blocks south.' James shrugged before an idea popped into his head, 'Hey! Why don't you let out your Pokémon? It might give them and Bagheera a chance to get to know each other first?'

'Meh.' Rikola pulled a Pokéball from off her belt. In a smooth motion she clicked open the lock and a flash of blinding red light lit the pavement for a second. Bagheera jumped back in fright as the space in front of him suddenly turned from air into the material form of a Pokémon.

A bipedal fox-like Pokémon shook herself off once the awakening was complete. It was clearly a female, with predominantly yellow fur flowing down over her waist to outline what would have looked like a dress on a human. The dark orange tip of her tail wagged back and forward gently as the Braixen surveyed the scene before her. A rather plain-looking brown stick was clutched between fluffy white paws.

The most alarming thing was the fox's size. She stood only a few inches shorter than Rikola, who herself was a tiny bit shorter than James. The Braixen's composure was somewhat human at first with the unmistakable sparkle of intelligence behind her eyes. That was, until the Pokémon bent down, stuffing her twig into her tail, and tapped Bagheera on the nose lightly.

'_**Hi there little one! Aren't you sooo cute!' **_

The Liepard back away in embarrassment, almost tripping over his paws in the process. He wasn't sure what was more alarming - the fact that he could _understand_ the Pokémon or just how incredibly effeminate her voice was. It was as if Bagheera could hear two languages at the same time. Overlaying the cute yapping of the fox was a much sweeter feminine voice that was translated naturally for the Liepard.

The Braixen giggled at the reaction of the dark-type.

'_**You must be Rikola's companions' new Pokémon! What are you called?**_

'See!' James spoke over the top of the two Pokémon. 'They can get to know each other before...well…'

'Ripping each other to shreds?' Rikola suggested with a dark grin, 'Nah I'm teasing you. She's too shy for that. You coming then girl?'

The Braixen nodded to her trainer, before turning back to the Liepard trotting next to her feet.

'_**I'm Missy by the way! And you are?' **_

'_**Uh...Bagheera. Nice to meet you.' **_The feline replied slowly, unsure how his voice would sound to the Pokémon.

'_**Oh my! So formal.' **_Without missing a step the Braixen curtsied before giggling lightly. '_**Nice to meet you too Bahheera. Hehe' **_

The Liepard didn't have the heart to correct the ditzy Pokémon. She walked by the side of her trainer elegantly, and tall enough to be mistaken as another player. Bagheera sighed, wondering if he was going to get babied wherever he went due to his size. Liepards weren't large Pokémon and James's had repeatedly mentioned he was small for his size. It also meant the feline was tiring out faster on their morning walk. For every step James' took Bagheera had to take two.

'**So! Do you like your new trainer?' **Missy asked happily, looking down at the feline with a grin spread across her muzzle. The Braixen had small gleaming white teeth that were too rounded to be dangerous. James and Rikola had returned to discussion about sand.

'_**I...I think so.' **_

'_**Oh...I guess you haven't known him long? I met Rikki almost a year ago and she's amazing. So smart and funny...and…'**_ The Braixen giggled. '_**You'll see. I bet James is the best!' **_

'_**He sure is.**_' Bagheera mumbled under his breath to quietly for anyone to hear.

'_**Oh look! we're here! This is going to be so much fun Bahheera!' **_

Surprisingly Rikola said a similar thing to her Pokémon, although in a much more gruff tone as she plucked up the collar of her leather jacket. 'Oh boy this is going to be great.' The blue-haired girl laughed, punching James on the shoulder. 'You're going down!'

A large gate opened out into what looked like a sport field. However, the green space was neatly fenced off into a number of small playing fields. Each was no larger than a basketball court, with a large block of nine with only a few occupied. The scent of freshly mown grass filled Bagheera's nostrils as he surveyed wide area.

'Right. I booked us into court seven for an hour.' James mentioned, pulling out his softscreen. Bagheera followed the two players down a gravel track lined by trees until they reached the correct field. Missy followed behind, skipping down the path as she watched another battle across the field. It was difficult to see from Bagheera's height, but large gusts of fire were swirling through the sky. Obviously, the destruction that such moves caused could be fixed instantly in the virtual world - or never occur at all. The Braixen _oohed_ and _ahhed_ before almost tripping over her large black foot paws.

Rikola pushed open the wire-mesh gate to the sectioned-off pitch and quickly surveyed the area.

'Well seems I'm short on time. Should we get to it? I'll take the left and you take the right?' The jacketed girl asked. She was already walking in her chosen direction.

'Sure thing.' James agreed before turning to his Pokémon directly. Bending down into a crouch, he ruffled the fur under the feline's narrow cheeks. 'Right Bagheera! You ready?' The Liepard nodded. It was hard to make the motion appear more certain, so he flicked his tail too, bouncing lightly on his front paws. The show of over-enthusiasm brought a warm smile to the boy's face.

'Great! Just listen to what I say and try your best! This is new for both of us.' James' ruffled the fur between the Liepards ears before stroking at the fur on his chin. 'You got this bro.'

The term of endearment slipped off the boy's tongue without thought. However, he was surprised when the Pokémon's eyes lit up brightly in response. The Liepard mewed in agreement, bounding across to their position in the pitch. Bagheera had gained a sudden burst of energy form the pep talk and was bouncing lightly on his feet, rolling his shoulders. To James, the motions of stretching before the battle was bizarrely human. He'd have to ask Baba later about any intelligence behind the programming.

Missy the Braixen was doing a less vigorous warm-up opposite, mostly consisting of combing back the fur between her ears. Both took their places either side of a round Pokeball shaped painted circle in the centre of the pitch. Bagheera's tail lashed back and form in anticipation of whatever was coming next, a nervous energy bouncing in his stomach. He just had to listen to James' right? Simple. Just perform what his trainer asked and try not to get hit. It was just like...like fighting right?

'You ready?' Rikola called across the training field.

James was still rummaging through his bag. It took a few moments to find what he was after. With a grin of triumph, the teenager pulled out a signature trainer's cap and stuck it down on his messy brown hair firmly. Purposefully making strong eye-contact with Rikola, James dropped the bag and (with an exaggerated motion) turned the cap around backwards. His companion just groaned in response, rubbing at her eyes in exasperation.

'Alrighty!' James' goofy smile made Bagheera's heartbeat a little faster, 'LET'S GO.' He shouted, fist-pumping the air.

Nothing happened.

The teenager thought his enthusiasm might naturally spark the battle on it's own. However, the sudden silence and the confused gaze of Rikola and the two Pokémon caused a flush of blood to his cheeks. Maybe it wasn't as simple as it was in the movies.

'Psybeam into flame charge!' Rikola announced loudly, breaking the silence. 'Let's test the waters Missy!'

The bipedal fox nodded sternly before adjusting her stance. With an elegant flourish she whipped her stick out of her tail with the sound of a lighting match. The wood caught on fire instantly and only seemed to be getting brighter.

'It's a distraction Heera!' James called from behind, making the feline's ears perk up in response. 'Sand Attack!'

Ugh..._what? _Was this a geological move or something?

However, where his more human side questioned how he could attack with sand. The whole was suddenly filled however by a strange instinct that reminded the Liepard he knew exactly what he was doing.

'JUMP RIGHT!'

Before even considering why, Bagheera sprung to the side. The tight muscles under his purple coat rippled as he leapt out of the path of the approaching Pokémon. The Braixen was drenched in red-hot flames, hot enough to scold the Liepard as he bounced away from her rushed attack. Turning on his front paws with claws digging into the dirt, Bagheera was struggling to comprehend the onslaught on his senses. However, his trainer was one step head as James yelled through the hazy air.

'Scratch from behind! In then out!'

Bagheera located Missy from the radiated heat of the fire-type. The sand cloud dissipated even as the Liepard used his last scrap of cover to lash out at the Braixen. It was no use. Both the Pokémon and her trainer Rikola were ready for the offensive.

'Tail Whip him off then Ember! NOW!'

'ROLL WITH IT!' Was all James could shout in warning as the attack backfired. Missy was prepared for the feline who even now was bounding through the air with small sharp claws outstretched. The Braixen span with startling speed, removing her body out of the impact zone whilst simultaneously whipping her tail round to swat at the Liepard. Bagheera was met with a face-full of tail as he collided with the burning-hot fluff. The sudden change in momentum flung him onto the ground heavily and his purple coat bulldozed through the grass.

Paying heed to his trainer's advice, the feline didn't try to recover from the hit. Rolling across the grass and Bagheera lacked the agility to bounce back into his feet. The ball of fire that shot down to finish the set piece missed the cruel-Pokémon by an inch. The Liepard blinked. Dazed, and a little confused at what had just happened, he saw Missy's muzzle loom over him.

'_**Hey! Hey are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?' **_

Bagheera groaned,

'MISSY! This is a battle!' Rikola was waved her arms up in the air, trying to catch her Pokémon's attention. 'Seriously? It's ok! Pokémon recover!'

'**Humph.'** Was all the Briaxen had to reply with. Bending down, she picked up the feline between her two large paws and set him back onto all four feet.

'_**Uh...Thanks.**_' Bagheera mumbled, rolling a sore shoulder from the impact.

'_**No problem!' **_Missy tilted her head and smiled. '_**I was worried I'd…'**_

'Missy!' Rikola yelled, 'Get your head in the game!'

The Braixen turned, sticking her vulpine tongue out at her trainer. Pulling her stick out of her tail, she carefully studied the branch before burying it back in her fur. Missy was in the process of returning back to her half when James dashed over to his Pokémon. Bagheera was plodding back to his starting point when he was intercepted by a warm hug. James tickled the feline's ears before setting him back down.

'That was epic Heera! Keep that up bro and we might have a chance. Do you know Pursuit yet?'

Bagheera tilted his head from side to side,

'Ah ok. Well give it a try! It might give us the edge we need!' Even as he spoke Jame jogged back to his position on the baseline. The fact that he stripped of his black hoodie to reveal a slim t-shirt underneath only emphasized that the teenager meant business.

'Round two!' He called over to Rikoka. That was all the girl needed.

'Right! Our special attack trumps their defence, Fire Spin!'

Missy nodded, whipping out her stick with a swift motion. The wood set alight once more and much like some kind of wand, she twirled it around herself in a burst of flame. It was like a dance as the Braixen lunged forward and shot of burst of flame towards the Liepard. Huge rings of flame spun from her stick which the fire-type used to cast tighter and tighter burst of flame.

'Attack through the flames!' James called, 'Pursuit if you can! We can only attack from up close!

Bagheera responded instantly, pushing off with his back legs just as a ring of flame came flying towards him. The leopard jumped through even whilst feeling the heat of the fire scorching his stomach. Picking up speed and the cat bounded through the cylinder of fire straight towards the bipedal fox.

'Uh...Uhmm…' Rikola hadn't expected Jame's to throw his under experienced Pokémon directly into the most dangerous move. It was a stroke of genius the player wasn't exactly prepared for. 'Ember! Bat him off!'

It was too late however. Even as the Braixen prepared the move Bagheera swept into her with a large tackle. The much smaller cat and their relatively lower experience meant the contact was messy and did little but stun the fox.

'Psybeam!'

'Pursuit!'

The two trainers shouted simultaneously, hands balling into fists as they watched the two Pokémon, now in close quarters within a sheath of flame, frantically battling. James had quickly realized that a Psybeam at point-blank range by the much stronger Pokémon would cause damage even for a dark-type. Knowing the aggressive Rikola wouldn't miss out on such an opportunity, he could only hope that Bagheera could pull of a pursuit - turning a defensive escape instead into a planned parry.

Missy the Braixen prepared the Psybeam, focusing the energy down her stick which lit with pink psychic energy. The female fox swung the stick round and aimed it at the chest of the Liepard which was scrambling to escape. Bagheera had quickly realized how much bigger the bipedal Pokémon was than himself. Dancing between her black paws he refrained from scratching at her fur in panic.

Desperately trying to work out firstly what Pursuit actually was, not to mention how to perform the move, Bagheera only just managed to dodge the Psybeam. The pink laser played across the fur of his haunches but it felt like a warm tickle than anything else.

'He's a dark type!' James hollered, 'You can do it Heera!'

'Fuck.' Rikola swore before rectifying her mistake, 'Light him up Missy!'

The Braixen responded quickly, twirling her flaming stick and coating herself in a sheath of flame. Bagheera was still in the process of high-tailing it out of range when a blob of fire exploded on the grass before him. Scrambling to escape the splash of orange flames the leopard was almost caught by another blob which singed the fur on his tail.

'_**Lie!'**_ The dark-type yowled, anger welling upside at the disadvantage he had without the ability for long-ranged attacks. That anger only grew when another burst of flame splashed just within the reach of his tail.

'Come on bro!' James called.

The frustration at his position in the battle-field unlocked something primal within the Liepard. Where normally anger might cause a tightening in the chest, this feeling was a lot warmer and more comfortable. It was like an energy pit bubbling up through his chest and spine. Maybe this was how special moves worked? Even as he dodged yet another bundle of flame, Bagheera spun and with startling speed lunged for the Braixen.

Missy, having showered the feline for the past minute whilst subtly trying not to hit the Liepard, wasn't expected the retaliation. Through the smoke from her last Ember the dark-type came flying towards her chest.

'_**Eek!' **_The Braixen panicked, bringing her flaming stick around. At this point it was mostly charcoal and the brittle material burst into a fireball as it connected with the side of the Liepard. The yellow-speckled purple fur of the Pokémon was lit up with fire even as the ball of dark-energy rapidly expanding around the feline's outstretched claws raked down Missy's chest.

The two tumbled backwards in a bundle of limbs and tails even as James yelled in excitement.

'You did it Heera!'

The Liepard was in no position to hear the congratulations. The frantic brawl that erupted from the physical bashing from Missy was too much for the exhausted Pokémon. The Liepard flopped onto the grass and skidded to a feline struggled onto his feet but failed, sagging back onto the ground.

The world turned black.

Richard blinked a few times, a strange feeling of disconnect spreading across his body. Going to wipe at his eyes and for a few long seconds his legs failed to respond. When they did, tight straps were holding them back. Only the realization that it was a harness holding Richard above a treadmill stopped the sense of rising panic. Breathing heavily, the SONY loading screen suddenly hovered above his face and he flailed at the headset to take it off. Richard could barely coordinate his body.

'What the hell happened!' Mark's voice sounded muffled until the programmer ripped off the headset and inbuilt earphones. Richard instinctively flinched as blinding lights shone on his eyes. For some reason it was hard to breathe.

'Richard! You alright?' Mark repeated, 'Your heart rate is up! Shit...you're sweating like hell. Are you seeing this? Your pupils are messed up.'

Mark waved a hand in front of Richard's face but the young man batted it away aggressively,

'Back off.' He growled before remembering where he was, 'Uh...sorry...I…'

The young adult hung limply from the cables trying to make sense of what the hell was happening. One moment he's been fighting from the perspective of a sleek, muscular feline the size of an average dog. Now he was in the awkward body of a human suspended in some highly technical set-up. He'd just fainted in battle right? How did he know whether he was a human dreaming he was Liepard, or a Liepard dreaming he was a man? Separating the real from the virtual was almost impossible until Mark undid his constraints with a heave off a buckle. The sudden feeling of gravity back on his body brought Richard round. He only just had time to catch himself before he slumped.

Mark was holding him up. The young man was balanced in the Asian's one hand and a battered mobile softscreen in the other. Between all of this he managed to disconnect the skin-to-skin contact of the Neuralink at the base of Richard's neck.

'Yana?' Mark was talking into his portable softscreen, 'Richard just got_ bottled_ out of HORIZON. No...No not our end.' There was a pause, 'Nah he didn't break any of the kit. We never...uh no…Cool. See you in a minute.'

Richard rubbed at his eyes, not being able to make top of tail of the conversation. After a minute off drunken swaying and dizziness, the feeling started returning to the man's legs. He pulled himself away from Marks grip and took a few paces towards the door. For some reason two feet no longer felt enough for balance and Richard flung his arms around wildly to stay upright.

Mark caught Richard for the second time.

'Take it steady. You're showing signs of rapid disconnect nearly identical to early Neuralink tests. It shouldn't have been possible...but I guess we've played around with the coding.' The Programmer was starting to ramble on and Richard shot him a harsh look. The Asian sniffed, before pulling a chair across the vinyl floor.

'After an hour of so everything will be back to normal.' He explained as Richard took a seat. 'We'll need to have a full medical and a rest period of a few days and…'

'A few days?!' Richard adjusted the Haptic feedback suit around his crotch. 'I need to be in there helping…'

'**Days** Richard. We need at least that amount of times ourselves to work out what went wrong…!' Mark replied sternly, turning his back to the man and instead moving to the closest screen on the machine. A laptop had been left on the floor with a number of cables connecting it to the main frame of Booples. The latter mostly consisted of a stack of computer hard drives whirling happily in the ten degree heat. To Richard the room felt a lot colder than normal.

Mark scooped up the laptop as he sat cross-legged on the floor. For a few minutes he scrolled through various pages ensuring the experimental set-up is in working order.

To Richard, it felt like he'd been pulled out a cosy dream and couldn't think of anything he'd prefer over returning to the fantasy world.

'Days…?' The young man repeated, sighing heavily as he rubbed at his face.

'Yes.' Mark grumbled, 'We need that time to check over the hardware and safety check the Neuralink coordination to ensure it's only unidirectional.' The man didn't even look up from his computer.

Richard rolled his shoulders, opening and closing his hands as he stared at four long fingers and a thumb rather than stubby toe-beans.

That was when his mind caught up with what the computer engineer had said,

'Unidirectional? You mean…?'

'I mean that the Neuralink is an interface. Things can go both ways. Getting _bottled_ can mess shit up. You know how it is - stare into the abyss and the abyss stares into you.'

`You're trying to tell me this isn't safe? That...that _thing_ can _upload_ stuff into _my_ brain?!' Richard was starting to get angry at the way the programmer was avoiding his questions. Mark tugged the collar of his white shirt, loosening his tie, before speaking. His eyes never left the laptop screen however.

'Take this as your lunch break. Get a cold drink and come back this afternoon. We'll go through the log together and see exactly what happened. Any guesses as to why the uplink might have crashed?'

'I was in a Pokémon battle.' Richard blinked before stating,

'Makes sense.' Was all Mark had to say in response. There was no emotion in his voice. When Richard realized that was the end of the conversation, he pushed himself out of his chair and wobble for a few seconds. Only once he gained his bearings on how to walk did he head towards the door. Before exiting into Yana's office. Richard took a glance back towards the _immersion_ machine, Mark, and the mass of cables and technical equipment that was becoming progressively messier with each ad-hoc addition.

'I'm still going to be allowed to carry on with this right?'

'Yeah.' Mark grunted, 'You'll going to be in and out until Yana's happy with the dataset. Don't sweat it. Pop-by the guys up on the first floor for a medical when you're out. Better safe than sorry. We'll get you to the experts tomorrow morning.'

'Uh huh.' Richard nodded before leaving, treading lightly on the balls of his feet as he left.

* * *

END

* * *

Because I haven't been able to touch on many sci-fi themes for the past few chapters, I've thrown in a few cheeky references to some classic philosophical ideas. The 'Abyss stares into you' quote by Nietzsche might have been obvious than the subtle reference of Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly. I'll be sneaking a few more in here and there as little Easter eggs for those interested.

For the conversation at the start of the chapter, James is talking about the "angle of response" of dry sand. The "angle of response" is the steepest dip (of angle) a material can be piled without slumping. For many loose materials this is normally around thirty degrees, and hence is a good rule of thumb for defining 'geomorphological' features. - something which James is fervent in ensuring its credibility inside HORIZON. Everything else geological/geographical should be fairly accessible. Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 7

[CHAPTER 111]

* * *

"_...check the LMS run, is that correct…?"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

Harry Eisenhower, for all his wealth, had a small house. It was a standard bungalow with sleek scandinavian-inspired exteriors. For those that knew their architecture, the appearance of steam-bent pine harked back to a fad for such designs in the forties. On the outside, the property looked no different than any other house in the quiet rural corner of Jersey. Detached, a bit of a garden, and solar panel tiling. Pinvale wasn't the type of place you'd expect to find the chairman of GOKIA, but it was homely nonetheless.

Richard didn't mind catching the bus back from work each day. Given that he spent most of the time four stories below the surface, it was nice to catch up on the vitamin D he'd been missing. Emerging from his underground den with it's constant air temperature of ten degrees, Richard enjoyed his sunlit evening walks.

Why the former welder (although he now liked to think of himself as the world's first '_immerser_') was living in Harry's house rather than being put up in some fancy hotel seemed strange. Eisnehower had blamed his own cheapskate nature and not wanting to pay hotel fees for weeks or even months. Given Richards poor background, he couldn't argue with the logic. However, he'd now been living with the middle-aged man for long enough to know the truth of the matter. Harry was keeping him under a close watch to ensure he didn't reveal the true activities in his nine-to-five. As far as anyone outside the GOKIA Jersey branch was concerned, _immersion_ didn't exist. Richard was listed as an intern without any association to the new technology.

Whilst the media was ripping into GOKIA in an attempt to uncover the truth behind uploading, Harry Eisenhower was keeping attention away from something even greater. It was under plain sight that Yana's expert computer team constructed the next evolution of virtual reality. It was almost like the casual cover had been planned. Even though weeks had gone buy, the various media agencies were keen to find out more about the first person to be uploaded into a computer. What they didn't know was that James was running around inside HORIZON at this very moment catching Pokémon - not inside the isolated simulation GOKIA claimed he was.

Richard missed that. It was strange considering that at this very moment, James's pet Liepard was curled up cozily inside its Pokéball waiting for their next adventure. If Mark and the two doctors gave the go-ahead, that would be tomorrow morning when Richard strapped on his Dreamcatcher headset. He couldn't wait. The Pokémon world and all its mystery and mayhem was a million times better than his time outside the simulation effectively twiddling his thumbs.

It was difficult to refrain from blabbering about his excitement to return to HORIZON. Then again, beyond Harry and Yana's small team of computer scientists, Richard didn't really have anyone to talk to anyways. The whole topic of _immersion _and Richard's role in it was a white elephant in the room. It loomed over the _immerser _even if he lacked the courage to voice his concerns. Richard been doing his own research on Neuralink, the psychological effects of prolonged VR, and even _bottling_. It gave him something to do during his awkward afternoons with Harry.

Most evenings were the same. The two of them would eat at the kitchen table before retiring to the living room catching up on the seven-o-clock news. It had become their normal routine.

Although Harry was clearly a minimalist, he did have a television. It was an old fashioned LCD set that was hung up on the wall adjacent to the window, with the blinds yanked down to fight off the late evening sun. The chubby man lay back in an armchair flicking through articles on his softscreen with only a small fraction of his attention on the news.

"T_his situation is only becoming more serious what with the immigration crisis facing Germany."_A female reporter stood under an umbrella in Berlin, a microphone clutched in her gloved hands. "_Given the increasingly arid conditions continuing to spread throughout Turkey and the Balkans...Britannica and the free-states are being pressed to open their borders and to provide further aid.'_'

Richard rolled his shoulders, fidgeting in his armchair. It contained a bamboo-framed seat was rather spartan in appearance and indeed in feel. The young man was progressively starting to find that such everyday positions like sitting and lying down were no longer as comfortable as they used to be. Given that he spent most of his working day hung up above a treadmill, it didn't come as any great surprise.

"_And now on BBS news. Our headlines for today."_

'About fuckin' time' Harry murmured though he failed to look up from his softscreen. He mopped at his balding head with the back of his sleeve.

"_President Martinez is visiting Plymouth after rising fears of sabotage to undersea cables connecting Britannica to the United States._"

An image of a deep-sea diver flashed up on the screen briefly before it cut to a short clip of a white science laboratory.

'And i_t's been six months since the United Nations decided on implementing the 2nd-Tier Gene Editing act legalizing the modification of humans and human-like animals for advanced medical testing. However, concerns have been raised that the gene editing laws may allow the creation of so-called "Spectres" - a highly sophisticated genetically modified labour force that the Britannica government has been proposing to aid their efforts in building a fully functioning space station in the next five…'_

Without warning, the television screen turned black.

'Let's tidy up shall we?' Harry grunted, lifted his eyebrows towards Richard. The sudden loss of signal had startled the young man who was in the middle of raising his concerns over the apparently broken device. Harry's tired eyes eyes revealed the truth behind the situation however. The businessman never talked about it openly, but he was still frustrated by his failure to implement _uploading_.

Richard watched the man struggled out of his chair. Even if Harry had committed to a daily morning jog, the extra exercise was by no means paying off.

'I'm guessing you're pissed off because your uploading thing was…'

'You learn quick kid.' Harry interrupted, rubbing at his chin. 'Do you mind giving me a hand?'

Richard had learnt the hard way that the question wasn't in truth a request. Harry lead a tight ship and expected the young man to keep things clean and tidy in exchange for bed and board. It was difficult to place Harry's strange habits. His personality seemed completely at odds with his job role and often aggressive organisational skills. Then again, the GOKIA chairman had been raised during a very different time. Back then the United Kingdom was still 'united' and the global sustainability crisis was at breaking point. Harry's minimalist home and strangely conservative habits were a stark reminder of how rapidly things had changed over the past decade.

The kitchen quickly became a hive of activity. Harry was already at the sink pouring a bowl of steaming hot water for the washing up. He had a neat kitchen and seemed to enjoy cooking both for himself and for the company. Given his size, it was no surprise that he enjoyed his food. Harry was efficient in how he prepared his meals and tidied up afterwards, forsaking the traditional dishwasher to instead wash things by hand. Richard grabbed a tea towel in preparation for his role drying up each plate and utensil.

'So uh-' Harry attempted to make conversation before the softscreen in his pocket blared loudly. 'Shit. Let me just get that.'

The businessman didn't wait for an answer, stepping out of the room even as he lifted the device up to his ear. He spoke loud enough for Richard could identify one side of the conversation even with Harry stood in the hallway.

'Hello? Yeah thanks...just finished reading through the...ah…' There was a long pause. 'Cool. We think at least a few more weeks.' Richard stayed as silent as he dared without making it obvious he was listening in.

'Seriously?!' Harry boomed suddenly, 'There's clearly something pre-arranged based on how quickly this _spectre_ scheme has got off the ground...yeah of course I'm suspicious! It's a crazy idea when I...yes...YES…'

Einsenhower appeared to be arguing with someone down the line.

'No this is completely under wraps. I've got a small team working on it but **nothing** gets leaked until we've done a proof of concept run. We'll trickle something to the media before...ahh yeah I know. Any...Anyhow. I'll send the write up tomorrow and we'll discuss things further next week...yeah…Of course I like the designs!'

Another long pause interrupted Harry's babbling.

'Yes I've got someone with the right skills to test the prototypes. You need to think about launching some of the more recent designs to test the full capabilities of these things...as well the planned workforce. You know? Make it look glamorous and like there's going to be lots of jobs...course...yeah you too...see ya.'

There was a small beep as the conversation ended. Richard pretending to look busy as Harry blundered back towards the sink.

'Sorry about that Rich. I've been part-timing on so many things that working hours don't really exist anymore.'

Richard just shrugged.

The chubby man began the prolonged procedure of scrubbing at foamy plates with a natural sponge. For a while it was just that...two men cleaning plates after a meal with nothing out of the ordinary to even suggest the true madness in both of their lives.

Richard ran the teatowel between his hands, feeling the fibres rub against his palms. He'd spent so long in virtual reality that he often forgot the disparity between computer simulations and the real thing. Reality was so perfect in it's imperfections. Everything had shape and form, touch and feel. For the briefest of moments the world became a dizzying vivid whirlwind of all the five senses.

'Whoa kid. Are you relapsing after the _bottling_ or are you just high?'

The world kicked back into normality. Richard blinked.

'Uh...sorry. Yeah I guess I'm still recovering.'

'Well it's on the risk assessment so it shouldn't be an issue. Using the Neuralink can be a little dangerous if it tries to eject you. It takes time for the disconnection to occur but it won't result in any long term problems.' Harry dumped a couple of plates onto the drainer to be dried. `You're going to want a good night's sleep if Mark's going to let you back in tomorrow. Him and Jean are really jumpy about this stuff.'

'They said something about the Neuralink being a bidirectional link? What does that mean?'

'Yeah. It's an interface between the computer and your brain. Dangerous kit really...and we have to ensure that it only uploads your brain activity to the computer and not the other way around.'

The man itched at his rounded nose. Richard had been reading up the very same issues on his softscreen earlier that afternoon.

'Anyways...How's it working out with your brother in the sims? You getting on well?'

'Apart from him thinking I'm effectively a computer generated Pokémon...it's fine.' Richard sniffed, 'It's just nice seeing him happy around me for a change. You know, even if he's not aware it's me. I think it might have been the right decision.'

'Wait? I thought you got on well with James?'

'Uuhh.' Richard groaned. 'Not really. It's kinda the thing between me and him that caused all of this mess. We used to get on...before…'

The _immerser _trailed off, being reminded of why he was here in the first place. Harry nodded slowly, his eyes flicking to the windowsill before he returned to his scrubbing. After a few moments of awkward silence, during which Harry realized Richard wasn't going to suddenly spill his life story, the older man decided to prompt the discussion more directly.

'So...Go on.'

'Well…' Richard grinned sheepishly, putting a dried plate down onto the solid oak kitchen table. 'James was always the clever younger brother. I got jealous when he got an offer for a scholarship at this big uni abroad. We used to get on so well and I didn't want him to go so I...uh…'

The young man suddenly realized that he didn't really want to talk about his past after all.

'So I tried to get him disqualified from his entrance exams.'

'Whoa..' Harry's eyes widened, 'Talk about a dick move. What Uni was he going-'

'Harvard or MIT or something.' Richard replied abruptly, 'Yeah I know it was stupid. I wish I never did it. James couldn't attend the exams, my parents exploded and I got kicked out. I've never spoken to any of them since...apart from James's now I guess.'

'Well. At least now you're making up for it.'

Richard sighed, refusing to make eye contact with the older man. 'Yeah. I hope so.'

For few moments Harry simply stared out of the window across the Jersey countryside. It was either that or a single photo frame on the windowsill. Richard hadn't spotted any other photographs in the whole house but for that single image. It was a beautiful shot of a happy couple stood next to a shaded river somewhere, featuring a much younger and athletic Harry stood next to a tall blonde woman.

'Wait...isn't that Baba?' Richard spluttered upon making the sudden connection. He pointed at the photo with a soap-studded glad almost slipping from his grasp. Harry, who had previously been scrubbing at a saucepan, stopped suddenly. For a few seconds the room grew very quiet before the chubby man sighed heavily.

'That's my...or that used to be, uh...my wife. Corey.'

'Corey? She looks just like Baba does in VR.' Richard pointed out, not noticing Harry's wary glance in his direction. In one sense the older man had been expecting this conversation to arise at some point. That didn't mean he had prepared anything for the eventuality. He sighed loudly, setting down the pan on the drainer and wiping his hands on a cloth.

'She does a little. That was nearly twenty years ago. We split up a few years later.'

'Ah I...I didn't want to intrude.'

'It's fine.' The large man grumbled, 'I've got over it ages ago.'

If anything, the picture left in the windowsill proved that such a statement was a blatant lie. However, Richard was too tired nor truly clever enough to fix the pieces together. Why Harry's ex-wife was a spitting image of Baba, and perhaps why HORIZON was developed the same time as their eventual divorce. It was one of those puzzles you couldn't see for looking. Richard hummed to himself thoughtfully.

'It must have been tough.'

The businessman gave Richard a long look.

'It was. You know...I don't think you would have said that a couple of weeks ago. You were a bit of a twat when I first met you. And quiet too. You've opened up a bit.'

'I guess.' The young adult shrugged.

'Getting used to being a Pokémon then?' Harry grinned widely upon seeing Richard nod. He cleared his throat. 'Good. I wanted to talk about something with you. Wanna grab a seat?' Harry prodded at a chair before picking up two recently washed glasses from the counter. Pouring two cups of water which almost got lost within the palms of his large hands, the large man sat down with a thump and slid a glass towards Richard. The _immerser_ wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Harry clasped and unclasped his hands. There was a strange nervous energy to the balding businessman.

'Has Yana talked to you about the reason we're testing _you_ specifically on the _immersion_ setup?'

'I was told it had something to do with my brother being inside and our...brainwaves?'

'Eh. Good enough.' Harry waved away the comment. 'We're working on making virtual reality more real. Using the adapted Neuralink technology we've managed basic setups - but nothing like the complete VR that you're testing. For now we're building up a backlog of data to learn the best way to trick the brain into responding to HORIZON. You're the guinea pig.'

'It's kinda like dreaming right?'

'Very good.' Harry's chair creaked as the large meant leant back to cross his arms, 'But I guess it's like with any state of consciousness too. It's about tricking your brain into _thinking_ what it sees is real. The simulation isn't any more advanced...your brain just _thinks_ it is.'

'This is based on the reports by Goodwin right? The dreaming stuff?'

'We hired him a while back for the Slough branch.' Harry admitted, 'But what I wanted to talk about was trying out something new in the simulations. What do you think about remotely controlling robots using the _immersion_ setup?'

'You mean Booples?' Richard asked. He was taken aback when the man opposite groaned loudly. Harry mumbled something under his breath before taking a sip of water.

'Typical! If that's what Yana calls it. It's designed for linking into HORIZON, but we can also use that system to put you in control of a robotic machine remotely. You can be directing a device anywhere in the world! Of course this isn't anything new, but it's the integration we're after. With uh..._Booples_...we can achieve a realism and naturalism to robotic control that until now was impossible.'

'I...I don't think I'm the best person to do this.' The young man admitted softly, running a hand through his short brown hair. Harry grinned, reaching for his softscreen and spinning it across the table. With chubby fingers he loaded up a few PDF files with various pictures on.

'That's where you're wrong. You are the _only_ person with the skillset to try this out.'

The soft screen showed a number of technical drawings of four-legged robots which looked strangely feline in appearance. They had four triple-jointed metallic legs which looked highly maneuverable, positioned around a sleek oblong frame. Cameras were marked on what could have been the head end, with storage space for cargo on the back. A scale-bar suggested the robot was not much bigger than a large dog. Sketches showed the machine in various positions.

'That's the drawings from version three. They're working on a version four at the moment. Here, I've got some photos too.'

Harry flickered a rounded finger across the screen with surprising dexterity. A number of pictures of the sleek black robot appeared in various natural settings. There was a strange elegance to the machine as it stood on it's thin nimble legs.

'It looks cool.' Richard provided softly, not wanting to ruin the man's enthusiasm. 'Uh...what's it do?'

'Anything really.' Harry slipped his softscreen back into his pocket. 'It's a multipurpose machine some of the guys in an affiliated branch came up with. Radhardened to work in space too. With Britannica trying to build an orbital ring, they're in need of a workforce. Manual labour completed by machines controlled by humans. Gives people jobs without them having to leave Earth.'

Richard was almost tempted to ask why GOKIA, creators of the world's second ever true artificial intelligence, didn't just design a robot to think for itself. But humanity now lived in a world economy that had already been crashed by one malicious machine. Ever since, creating AI was universally illegal, highly condemned, and no longer attempted. Since the singularity, humans had woken up to the power that technology had to control.

'You're a qualified welder...and you're now highly experienced using all four of your limbs for doing things instead of just two. It's perfect.'

'Wait! So that's why I became a Pokémon? That was your idea!?'

Harry shrugged, ignoring Richard's rising tone.

'Out of other things. It's all on those files I sent if you'd bothered to read them.'

Richard had in fact finished reading all the paperwork and realized there was very little beyond technical jargon for exactly what he would be doing. As far as the risk assessment concerning the modded Neuralink and hours spent in a VR headset, there were even fewer details explaining the technicalities of his job. Or internship rather, as his position was listed on the GOKIA database.

'So what do you think? Willing to give it a try?'

'Welding in space?' Richard clarified, calming down. 'How many of these robot things am I controlling?'

'Just the one.'

_It's a proof of concept _Richard thought.

'So. Wanna give it a go?'

'I'd rather be in HORIZON with James.' The _immerser_ pointed out quickly, not wanting to sacrifice the time spent with his brother. Not to mention the enjoyment that came with inhabiting the body of a Pokémon.

Harry shrugged, 'Fine with me. Yana will work on Sundays as long as there's pizza.'

'Uh, cool. I can try.'

'Great!' Harry practically beamed, his cheeks puffing up. It was almost comical how quickly the expression dropped to something far more serious. 'And Rich...this is off the books. This design hasn't gone through the proper pathways yet so it doesn't exist. No word of this gets to anyone beyond me. Got it.'

Richard nodded stiffly, wondering what he had just agreed to do.

* * *

END

* * *

So continues the main storyline for EOrRRoR. The last two chapters acted to break up the onslaught of plot development, although things will continue to speed up after this point. Unlike previously, I don't think I've introduced any technical lingo wildcards. Radhardened is the only one I noticed, shorthand for 'radiation hardening' which is a process of making electronic components resistant to ionizing radiation - especially useful for space technologies. Forties architecture is in reference for the upcoming 2040's rather than the war-era 1940s.

This story contains rather positive views on futurism which will continue to be expanded upon in later chapters. There are a few more nods to BLACKOUT than I was intending, but this story will be discussing some themes which act as a prequel to that separate story. As always, excuse any typos I've missed to correct. Thanks for the ever increasing number of viewers and followers! Enjoy!


	9. Chapter 8

[CHAPTER 1000]

* * *

"_...what respect do you want us to do the stars out the window...?"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

'_Thanks for playing, Adav72!_' The sweet computerized and highly synthetic voice called through the crackling earphones of her headset, '_I look forward to seeing you next-_'

'**OI**!' The teenager's final moments within HORIZON were cut short by a beastly shout from downstairs, 'Your shift is over! GET OUT!'

Eva yanked off the headset as quickly as she could, dumping it on the rusted stand in front of her. Only once she'd untangled herself from the visor's cables did she scamper out of the room.

Poking her head outside and Eva wearily examined another ten doorways lining the damp corridor. Paint peeled from the walls to form white shavings across the stained floorboards.

Footsteps sounded on the creaking stairwell and the teenager ducked out of her booth. The strip lights overhead flashed on and off almost in rhythm with her fluttering heartbeat. The owner of the small _establishment_ was known to be a very angry and aggressive man. Eva tighten her shoulders, staring at the floor and praying for the best.

The hallway door was flung open.

A small boy, barely more than a child, bounced through. Eva breathed a sigh of relief. It was only the next shift worker. The child, barely older than ten, would take up where she left off. He glanced in her direction as she shuffled past, a sparkle of excitement in his eyes. That fact alone sent alarm bells ringing inside Eva's head even as she fought through yet another headache. It was clear the child was a new recruit. Give him a few days and shifts wouldn't contain the same wonder he thought they would.

There were a number of _establishment_ buildings spread across Inverness but they were all the same, even as far as the name. Eva had been working inside the shady VR booth for most of her miserable life. She'd come across the job by accident and been a fool to accept it.

At first, Eva believed all the lies told to her about working for the _establishment_. It was a dream job! She'd be free to play around inside the virtual world of HORIZON for five to six hours a day and get paid for it too. The proposition was obviously too absurd to be true...but it was too late now. Back then Eva had been too naive to know otherwise. Work for an uneducated young-adult like herself was hard to come by.

She sighed heavily, plodding downstairs. During long evenings like these, it was always the same thought that popped into her head:

_Technology had changed the world_

Even as a young girl, Eva had understood that. Her Scottish home hadn't weathered the break-up of the UK very well, nor the rest of Western Europe. Inverness had once been a pretty city. It sat on a firth reaching out the North Sea, great for trade and travel. A river ran through the city centre from lochs to the south and a brisk breeze perpetually tumbled down from the Northwest Highlands. It had once been the centre of culture in the far north. Now it was a backwaters.

Such stories were whispered over drinks in the squat pubs dotted throughout the city. Two decades of no jobs, no industry, and migration of anyone with any sense had left Inverness a ruin. The city was a pocket of deprivation without law and without order. It had been abandoned by the state before Eva was even born.

It was no wonder that people turned to online entertainment. Virtual reality was an easy escape from the shithole that modern life had become. And what better place than HORIZON - the global host of simulated gaming environments offering everything the internet had and more. Almost overnight, cheaply-available SONY Dreamcatcher hardware (and even cheaper imitations) meant that anyone could buy their way into the realms of virtual reality. Early adopters gained a hold in the new markets that come with any significant concentration of humans - advertisements and propaganda.

Whilst GOKIA has fervently banned advertisements on their platforms, there was one thing they couldn't ban...People. For the genius ideas of infinite customization of individualized avatars, there was one downside. Your body became a canvas. Sure. Now you could change your hair colour and skin tone to whatever shade of the rainbow. But you could also paste 'Fuck Britannica' across both cheeks, or all four if you were so inclined.

The _establishment_ offered access to HORIZON at a steep price. Your avatar became their own. At first that didn't seem to bad to Eva. All she had to do was wander around as an _advertisement avatar _(or _adav _for short), a faceless person whose pink eyeless body was covered head to toe in grim text. Eva was forced to traipse between between the various worlds where such blatant rule breaking could go unnoticed. Places which, for a mere fifteen-year-old like herself, should have been far _far_ off limits. Mature rating didn't even come close. It was outrageous, but Eva no longer had a choice. What had started off as small stints through red tape had become full exposure of her tattooed avatar throughout the cesspit of human fantasy.

The _establishment_ didn't pay in money - they paid in tokens. Each token had the equivalent value as euros but could only be spent in grimy _establishment_ centres across the city. No matter how many tokens Eva made, she'd always be as poor. Eva was trapped. Completely reliant on a system that dragged her back each day to do the same thing over and over again. There was no joy in HORIZON, only the continuous shunning that an _adav_ like her got. Not to mention everything else that virtual players tried to do to her.

_The greater our knowledge increases, the more our ignorance unfolds. _

Eva didn't know where she had heard that quote, but it seemed to fit the situation. It seemed that no matter how far humans progressed, they only learnt the same thing over and over...We hadn't come far enough. Humans messed shit up more quickly then they could fix it again. The sustainability crises was just one example of humankind scraping through. Mass social change, along with a hectic climate system, had thrown Europe into disrepair.

But sometimes...sometimes human's got it right.

Out of the ashes of climate change and the singularity (or the "_exDEV Awakening_" as the media liked to call it). Britannica had rose to fame. It was the perfect image of what human society could be like in this new world. What had previously been Northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands had joined forced with most of England to form a free state outside of the Eurozone. A state with control of its own laws and populations. At first the UN had disregarded the petty attempt at independence - until the Scandinavian countries, along with Scotland, had done the very same thing.

Eva had lived in the 'North Atlantic Alliance' or the NAA for all of her miserable life. Across the horizon and Britannica seemed to be a whole world away. It was a place of fame, fortune, and stability. The birthplace of GOKIA - a modern corporation for a modern world attempting to make technology acceptable once more. The grass always looks greener on the other side...but maybe in this case it was actually true. The Scottish media doing their utmost to shed negative media coverage on the new state of Britannica only seemed to emphasize the fact.

What did it matter? She'd be stuck the backwaters of Inverness forever.

'_Welcome Adav72!' _The synthetic voice welcomed Eva as she pulled on the knock-off virtual headset the next morning. The sweet computerized tones crackled as her earphones buzzed. A small crack in the lens before her left eye ran a fuzzy crack down the visuals.

'Welcome to Horizon. Your account has been tailored to _Adultzfunzone_ can your confirm your choi...choozzz…chzzzzzzz…'

The sickly voice turned to static, trying to rephrase the question as the headset screen went black. Eva groaned in annoyance. This wasn't the first time the imitation SONY headsets had died on her. She went to pull off the equipment only for a new voice to awaken.

'Hi Eva.'

'Wh...what?' Eva froze in fear. How did HORIZON know her name?

Holding back her breath, heart beating, Eva tried to make sense of the situation. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Usually the mock headset failure-screen faded into numerous hacked spam or phishing messages. Eva was already in the process of pulling the goggles off her eyes when the screen flashed to life once more.

'It's ok Eva. I'm Baba! I see that you've been accessing HORIZON via illegal means and-'

'No!' I nearly shouted into the mic. Baba, a common figure in the spam message, had never spoken to her like this before. Not wanting to draw attention to herself from the other rooms, Eva dropped her voice to a whisper.

'This isn't illegal! I'm just playing online and..and…'

There was a long pause. For a moment the screen flickered from white to purple before a loading graphic appeared. However, this was different to anything Eva seen before. A buffering circle rotated before her eyes before text popped into view. The message welcomed her once more into HORIZON.

'I don't want to shut you down Eva. In fact, I want to help you.' The voice, Baba, continued. Eva sniffed, rubbing at her nose only to bash the side of the headset. Cursing softly, she jumped in surprise when virtual reality suddenly appeared before her eyes. The hacked headset displayed a new world steadily growing around her. Eva tilted her head, cheap motion sensors capturing her change in perspective as she stared around the grassland environment.

'This isn't real! You can't just pull me into a new environment like this! This...this can't be happening!'

'Ha! Isn't that the point kiddo?'

A tall woman strolled into view. She was almost angelic, if not for the freckles dotting her pale cheeks. Golden blonde hair was bundled up behind her head in a neat tail, revealing bright blue eyes. Smiling warmly, Baba brushed off her maroon cardigan. Her _statroll _was empty of everything but a single asterisk. That alone suggested to Eva that the avatar might not be everything she claimed to be. Hackers were always unable to mimic _statrolls_.

'Where am I?' Eva demand, looking down at her avatar to find it too had changed. Gone were the endless streams of bright advertisements for e-cigarette's and rude slogans. Most had been along the lines of '_Britannica abandoning Earth, time we abandon them!_' or '_Earth first!_'. There even used to be a rude 'Bollocks to Rockets!' stenciled across her chest. Eva's hands looked like hands were supposed to, rather than a homogeneous pink skin printed with phone numbers and offers of a good time. She now had shoes, clothes, and even a satchel hanging loosely off a shoulder.

Eva had never seen anything like it. Spam messages were never _this_ good.

'Ah yes. This is the _real_ HORIZON.' Baba explained, waving around the virtual world. For now it consistent of a flat grassy plane as far as the eye could see. 'Or at least, a small bubble inside of it I created so we can have a chat.'

'You...you created?' Eve babbled, eyes widening under the headset. That was impossible.

'Uh huh.' The woman smiled warmly, 'It's kinda my job to keep things running smoothly. And that's why I need your help.'

There was a long pause during which Baba looked at the girl expectantly. No. This wasn't the first time it had happened. A person calling themselves "Baba" had attempted contact before. Behind the angelic smile was most likely a balding man trying to force Eva into a situation even worse than at present.

Eva sighed, unsure whether the sound came through to the virtual world.

Oh how much she wanted it to be true.

'No.'

'Seriously? Straight off the bat?' Baba stared at the girl in awe. 'Wow.'

'It's nothing personal.' Eva replied quietly, 'It's just...it's too good to be true. Sorry Baba.'

The teenager pulled off her headset without even waiting for a reply. Checking over the electronics, she knew the blame was going to fall on her when the repair bill came through. Hacked headsets were usually fried on the inside.

She was amazed at just how much better VR scams were getting. That almost looked genuine! At least, if Eva wasn't already being stalked by an identical avatar under the same name for the past month. Like, seriously? Just how far were they willing to go to target her...and who would pick a name like Baba?

It was raining when Eva walked home that evening.

Inverness was a bleak city, even with the sun shining. With the addition of a grey sky overhead the world turned into a bleak sandbox of concrete. Huge raindrops tumbled from the heavens to splatter on the pavement underfoot. Puddles only acted to reflect a scene of black clouds above. A few electric cars whizzed by silently, but otherwise the street was empty. Eva hurried through the cold drizzle.

Many of the shops adjacent to the River Ness had closed down years ago. Only a handful were turning a big enough profit to keep their doors open. Many limited to selling the bare essentials. Nobody would part money for anything else. That being said, It was amazing how the grimy electronics store on the corner of Gordon Terrace was still going. In the window, soft screens and archaic televisions displayed the evening news in multiple copies.

Yellow subtitles did little to explain the ongoing debate. The colourful television set being depicted contrasted the bleak world beyond. A number of trimmed professions in suits and dresses were in the process of shouting over one another.

"Britannica have been continually investing in launch capabilities and failed attempts at returning humans into space! It's a waste of money and-"

"Yes! But what proof do we have of these space ventures? For all we know this is simply a facing for their new weapons development programme!" It wasn't clear who was speaking. On a stark white sofa a large man argued expressionlessly with his wide hands. The main speaker however, seemed to be a rather petite dark woman. Her eyes were shadows as she interrupted.

"That is besides the point! We have so many problems to face here on the _only_ planet capable of supporting life! Britannica is failing in its responsibility as a stable economy following the Eurozone crash to care for European citizens beyond their own-'

"I agree! We must look inwards at what matters, not gazing outwards.' The subtitles matched a second, wider woman. Eva found it hard to follow the block yellow text with so many people involved in the televised debate.

"And where has that got us?" A skinny male butted-in across the sofa. The television camera turned to see the controlled anger across his face. "We're stagnant! Britannica is leading the European economy because in the post-sustainability crises world, it's pushing industry rather than trying to conserve it! GOKIA is a-"

"Sorry but I-"

"Let me finish!" The man didn't stand down. He tugged at his red tie before continuing, "GOKIA is a prime example of a modern company continuing to advance technology and create jobs. Following the technological revolution this is how-"

"In reference to GOKIA" The interviewer cut through, changing the topic; "What are your opinions on the possibility of the...uh '_Uploader'_ that GOKIA are…"

Eva sighed, refrained from watching the subtitles any longer. Of _course_ they'd cut out any pro-Britannica babble. Now the politicians would simply fight over whether GOKIA had indeed uploaded a human boy into the computer world. Eva didn't care either way. That was old news now.

A splatter of rain trickled down her nose. Without a raincoat the teenager couldn't afford to stand out in the cold for too long. An elderly couple walked down the street opposite as she solemnly put one foot in front of the other. Eva followed the river south towards the slums of Stratherrick. Given her present situation, there was nowhere else she could afford with only worthless credits to offer. Only a tiny coffin-like bedroom on the edge of what had once been a tidy housing estate.

Eva was thoroughly soaked when she finally got inside. Locking all three of the latches behind her, she shook of her hoodie and trudged up two flights of stairs to her attic room. Wind whistled through the tiles above her head. A cold draught was already pushing its way under the door. Eva almost tripped-over upon trying to get inside. Swearing loudly, she lifted her foot and studied the unexpected item occupying the floor at her feet. It was a cardboard box. Rectangular in shape and about the same size as a shoebox. Eva's name and address were clearly stamped across the top.

'What the hell?' She mumbled to herself, picking up the box under one arm while pushing her door open with the other. The door opened about one foot before hitting the end of her bed.

Eva performed her normal evening routine of changing clothes in the space equivalent to the volume of a small coffin without hitting her head. The remaining room in the closet was filled by her damp clothes hanging over hot water pipes running across the ceiling. Lying back in her bed, Eva puffed out a large sigh. Refraining for a few minutes longer and her curiosity finally overwhelmed her.

'They must know me.' She mumbled, staring at her name on the package. The again, it wasn't like she had any friends to send her things anyway. Shaking the box vigorously in an attempt to discern the contents, Eva couldn't help but rip it open.

A black box tumbled out of the wreckage along with a single white slip of paper.

The teenager froze, eyeing the second package with suspicion. Snatching up the piece of paper and she turned it over a few times, confused at the short message. "**For Eva. From a friend.**" were the only words printed across the page.

Eva was almost disappointed. It had to be a ruse.

That was, until she studied the black container. It was a painted steel case, large enough to hold in both hands and surprisingly light. The words "SONY" were embossed across the dark lid. Eva's heart started to beat faster. With a deep breath she steadied her hands and pried the tin open. For a moment time froze. Her eyes widened in shock as she failed to rationalize the sight before her.

Inside sat a gleamed VR headset like nothing she had seen before. There were no cables or external leads, only a sleek all-in-one set of goggles with a sleek black design. SONY was stamped on the side in silver letters, so perfect that it just had to be real. Nobody could fake something as good as this! In Eva's hands the technology felt as light as a feather. She seen leaked adverts for this headset years previously and been fantasizing about it ever since.

This was the real thing. All her life she'd been pretending, but here it was! A _real_ SONY Dreamcatcher!

Eva didn't even bother to think about where the headset might have come from, nor who had given it to her. With a wide grin, tears of happiness streaming down her eyes, she pressed the ON button. Without even waiting for the headset to load, Eva lifted the goggles to her face. Instantly, the highly immersive virtual screen came to life.

A holographic buffering screen played across her vision. The SONY logo appeared along with a short was a pause before a soft voice sounded perfectly through the earphones, so perfectly that Eva could have sworn there was somebody stood right next to her.

'Hi Eva.' A woman appeared in front of her.

'Wait? Uh...Barbar?' Eva trembled. A pang of panic started to build in her stomach. The scene around her loaded a few seconds later. A woodlands scene was built from the ground up into a huge green canopy overhead. The scene was startlingly beautiful.

'It's pronounced Baba, Kiddo.' The angelic woman grinned cheekily, 'I thought you might take me more seriously if gave you untapped access to HORIZON. You can think of it as a welcome gift.'

'I told you...I don't-'

'Let me finish this time.' Baba lifted her hands up in defense. 'I need someone with experience of HORIZON to help me out with a project. I'll give you a trial run. If you like it, I can set up weekly Payfriend installments if you accept. No more credits. Fair?'

Eva gulped, mind whirling at the proposition.

'What does it involve?'

'Being a friend.' The freckled woman rolled the word around her mouth. 'A friend of an _uploader _in fact. You might have come across him on the news. I need somebody that knows HORIZON to show them around.'

Eva's eyes widened. 'It's true?'

'Why wouldn't is be, kiddo?' Baba smirked, 'So you up for it...or you still unsure?'

The teenager's silence confirmed the latter.

'Well you've got the kit now. Hey! Why don't you have a play with a free trial and get back to me?' Baba didn't even wait for a reply. 'Enjoy!' the angelic woman called. A gust of wind caught her maroon cardigan before, without warning, she suddenly disappeared.

'Waaaa...?' Eva turned in her bed, the headset picking up the motion. There was no sickening lurch as the teenager expected. Instead, the the goggles matched the action perfectly. She jumped back in fright when she found herself face-to-face with a greying man. He grinned widely.

'Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Oak!' He smiled again, adjusting a white lab coat over top of a red shirt. 'This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokemon! For some people, Pokemon are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself...I study Pokemon as a profession. First, what is your name?'

The teenager paused, staring at the text pop-up. This couldn't be happening. Pokemon? The SONY Dreamcatcher failed to pick up her eye roll. Still, Eva was lying to herself if she tried to deny the knot of excitement in her stomach.

"Rikola" She tried.

'Sorry that name is already taken' The Pokemon professor replied cheerily. Eva swore but was instantly met with the patient grin of the researcher. 'Try another' he suggested.

"Rik0la"

There was a pause.

'Hi Rik0la...Welcome to the world of Pokemon!'

* * *

END

* * *

EOrRRor is a 'big picture' fic which attempts to pull together a few different threads (as have been revealed) into the main story. Obviously, this chapter is set before the events of the previous chapters in order to introduce Rikola/Eva in a logical way. Much like Bagheera/Richard, I'll stick to using either of the two names depending on whether the character is inside or outside of HORIZON.

There's not too much trivia this chapter, with only slightly more world-building than usual. "The greater our knowledge increases, the more our ignorance unfolds" is a JFK quote in reference to pushing the Apollo programme and space exploration. The NAA was a concept I developed for Blackout, so it's good to finally squeeze it into a story. As always, thanks for reading! Sunday updates will continue to benefit Aussies and early-risers in Europe! Enjoy!


	10. Chapter 9

[CHAPTER 1001]

* * *

"_...Houston, this is Odyssey. Go ahead..."_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

'After closing statements from both parties...and after the jury have made their decision...the Judge will pass their verdict. In this case, it's pretty obvious what's going to happen. To be honest I'm surprised that this has been going on as long as it has...'

Harry Eisenhower's aid, a curt woman called Maddison, learnt over to whisper the message into his ear. The businessman had grown bored of the court case nearly three hours earlier. The only reason he was there at all was for formality. Mrs Lovell had wavered in dropping their death-glare from her respective booths on the opposite side of the hall.

Rubbing at the stubble on his chin, Harry's mind was elsewhere. To be precise, it was busy planning ahead to his presentation this afternoon.

Sat at the back of the room, the GOKIA chairman took a moment to compare his company's own legal team with the Lovell families'. There wasn't much else to do as one lawyer droned on against the other. At this point in the case it was a simple matter of stating the various list of arguments in support of and against the Lovell families' accusations.

The sound of the Jury shuffled out to discuss the case woke Eisenhower from his light snooze. Scratching at his thin hair, he glanced at his watch as if to hide the fact he'd fallen asleep. The Jury were gone for nearly a whole hour discussing the final outcome of the court battle. During this time Harry managed to slip out for a coffee. Though, he paid twice the price he was expecting. Being in London did that to prices.

Only once the jury had returned and settled in their seats did the judge once more take her position. She was a few decades younger than Harry would have assumed. Bulky formal clothes and a large gown made the petite lady look smaller than she was. She maintained a firm gaze sweeping across the courtroom. It might have been intimidating if not for the decorative grey wig.

Harry slipped his softscreen away with a sigh just as the judge began her firm announcement. The next level of _CandyCompress_ would have to wait.

'Well. The jury verdict stands in agreement, alongside my own postulations, and so I can pass the court ruling. This states that the GOKIA corporation is _not_ responsible for the death of James Lovell. Nor did they breach any regulation regarding misinformation.' The young woman turned her attention to the Lovell family. 'However, we are considering Mr and Mrs Lovell for perverting the course of justice.'

There was a moment of silence during which Harry had to hold back a snigger.

'Thus finishes this case. A full write-up will follow, if those heading the legal teams can meet with Mr Broody afterwards. Dismissed.'

The judge purposefully left her bench and the trial was officially over.

_Finally_ thought Harry to himself. How many months had this case been dragging on for? Sure, it wasn't like GOKIA didn't have the money to spend on court fees, but it had been a trivial waste of time. He'd talked to the GOKIA legal team that morning just to thank them for their time. As they left them from the front, Harry gave the small team a curt nod as they exited neatly.

Eisenhower turned to his aid sat beside him, 'I'm guessing you found that as boring as I did.'

Maddison sighed, closing the lid of her laptop with some finality. By no means a young lady, the experienced aid brushed her hair to the side and shrugged noncommittally. She had noticed Harry running through the slides of his afternoon presentation on his softscreen obsessively for the past hour. The chairman of GOKIA was clearly nervous with his thoughts preoccupied. Maddison noted the behaviour with some interest.

It was only once Harry got outside the courtroom that he could connect to secure satellite internet and thus his office network. The busy London street parted around the rotund man as he ambled across the pavement. As per usual, a whole heap of messages came through demanding Harry's attention. The top most email was from Yana, marked in red for high importance.

'Shit. Shittity shit shit.'

Muttering under his breath, the businessman scan-read the message. A red double-decker bus beeped in the background as it tried to make a turn onto a side street. Sirens blared into the distance, bouncing off the glass panels of a new row of skyscrapers along the north bank. Harry was too immersed in his softscreen to pick out the picturesque London skyline.

The GOKIA chairman was calling Yana without even catching a breath.

'Sir?' Maddison interrupted, in the process of waving down a taxi. Harry shooed her away, turning his back to the busy traffic as he waited for the connection to go through. A bubble of stress punctured his large stomach. Eyeing the white Portland limestone architecture, the dialing tones rang in contrast to the buzz of electric cars in the background.

'Harry.' Yana was expecting his call and picked up instantly. The Czech lady sounded tired and as she stated bluntly, 'We have an issue.'

'This isn't about the immersion set-up, right? I need everything go-'

Eisenhower jumped the gun, his thoughts more concerned with his upcoming presentation than any immediate worries that the computer programmer was suggesting.

'Listen Harry!' Yana cut through in exasperation, '**Listen**! Richard...uh...he got _bottled_ again.'

Harry swore. Rubbing at his balding head in frustration, the wailing of sirens in the background and the afternoon traffic did little to distract him from the conversation. He wasn't sure if he was angry at the young man getting kicked out of the simulation again…or simply frustrated that Yana was suggesting that _bottling _was a serious issue. The team had been given _plenty_ of time to iron-out any problems with Neuralink over the past month of testing!

'Booples is good.' Yana continued in her strange European accent, 'We are ready and the uplink has been tested...but Richard...Something's not right. Harry I am being serious.'

'I know.' Harry sighed, 'Fine. Can you explain exactly what the issue is?'

'You.' Yana snapped back suddenly, 'You are the issue! This is too much work for Richard! The Neuralink is not made for long stints. Yes?'

'So it's my fault he got _bottled_? How's that work?' Harry retorted, tugging at his tie to more easily grab a breath of air. Sweat was beading on the rolls of skin on the back of his neck.

'Well. No. Not yours. It's...it's like something is forcing him out! I think there is something wrong with the HORIZON program. It's like it randomly starts fighting to kick him out!'

'You're the one who built HORIZON!' Harry replied, chewing at the words. 'But how is Richard? He's still up for-'

'Sir. The taxi is waiting.' Eisenhower's aid chimed in. Maddison kept a straight face, even as the chairman of GOKIA narrowed his eyes. For a moment there was a stand-off between the middle-aged man and his aged aid before, with a grunt, Harry ducked into the electric black cab. It was a tight fit in the back as he shuffled over, letting Maddison take the seat next to him. Without waiting for confirmation, the driver lifted the clutch and the cab joined the mass of traffic along Ludgate Hill.

'Yana.' Harry called through the softscreen once his seat belt was fastened over his large stomach. 'Yana are you still...ah seriously?'

The computer programmer had already hung up. Mumbling profanities to himself, Harry resorted to loaded his office email and started sifting through the remainder of his messages. Knowing Yana, she'd got grumpy and cut the call short in a tantrum. He'd ring up Mark in an hour or so to get a full report. As long as Richard was well enough to run a small demonstration of the _immersion_ set-up, that's all that mattered.

The drive across London was a short up to Euston Road. Most people took the tube and the zero-emissions zone kept everything but buses and taxis out of zone one. Stepping out of the taxi and Harry was already scanning the deals advertised in the windows of nearby coffee shops. The man, admittedly still overweight even with his new exercise routine, usually ate when he was nervous. He shooed Maddison away when she requested a short visit across to St Pancras to meet a family friend.

Only after wolfing down his lunch did Harry grab a watery coffee. On a whim, the GOKIA chairman walked over to Gorden square. Finding a bench not inhabited by the local grey squirrels (or any students for that matter), he sat down and took a sip of his drink.

It was only then that he decided to call up Kelly Osman. The senator, Harry's only favourable contact with any significant status in the UN, had ignored his last couple of emails with a solitary professionalism.

The dialing tone droned on for nearly a minute before the sharp americanized accent of the politician replied. As per usual, the video feed was disabled.

'Harry.' She greeted flatly, 'I wasn't expecting your call.'

'Bullshit.' Eisenhower returned like-for-like, though he was unable to stop the dry humour creeping into his voice, 'You've been ignoring me. What's up? You in London for this meeting?'

'No.'

'What do you mean _no?_' Harry phrased carefully, wiping at his mouth.

There as a long pause. Harry took a moment to sip his coffee and watch the students from Gower Street stroll across the grass. Pigeons pecked at the ground in the warm summer heat.

'No, I'm not coming. It's a small-fry exhibition you're putting on. Hey, you remember back nearly half a year ago when I said the UN have their minds set on their _spectre _plan...well nothing's changed. I get what you're doing but it's not going to work. The _uploading_ scheme only gained interest because it helped towards overpopulation.'

'I'm working on something similar.' Harry admitted. 'Jobs.'

There was a sigh from the other end of the conversation, wherever Kelly currently was she sounded tired. The dark senator had a habit of jumping between countries and could be either of the two hemispheres right now.

'I like your enthusiasm. But it's not going to work. You have to admit it Harry...you're a _Brittanic_ company. We live in a post-sustainability crisis world where everyone is looking inwards with an innate fear of technology. You're science _fiction _rather than science _fact_. This thing you're putting on is for space junkies rather than politicians...'

She trailed off. It was almost as if Kelly had become aware of just how cutting her remarks were.

'Look. I don't mean to be harsh but you need to focus. GOKIA makes _computer games..._Not whatever you keep dreaming it up to be. Stick to what you do best.'

'Maybe you're right.' Harry sighed, taking another sip of his coffee, 'But it's worth a shot.'

'Whatever you say big guy…Have a break alright?'

'Pfff. See ya.' Harry said his goodbyes and cut the line. Given that Kelly was a university flatmate of his back when him and Corey were still a thing, the senator had a sentimental side. If anything, it just pissed Harry off. How ironic was it that he was sat in the very same spot they'd colluded on essays and shared cheap street-food a lifetime earlier.

Rubbing at the bags under his eyes, Harry took a moment to appreciate the warm sun dappling the London Planes. The huge trees had been planted to help filter pollution from the city ever since the industrial revolution. Humanity didn't know what it was getting itself into back then. Smog was the only concern, not the utter waste of resources that industrialization really was. Blue signs over London announced where the great thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth century had lived. Each in what were now worn limestone-faced office blocks. Harry could only wonder what the likes of Brunel would think as society imploded. It was an interesting thought-experiment as he sipped at his coffee.

Harry rang Mark a few minutes later. Eyeing a number of young couples cutting across the park to lessons, he couldn't help but sigh. With his mind wandering back to consider his younger years, Mark had to shout down the line to grab his attention. Harry hadn't even realized he'd zoned out.

'Oh...Yeah. Mark! How are things?'

'Ha the normal. We're running the sims on the new Neuralink performance. I think it will present a challenge for as long as SONY keep pushing back the software update on their latest headset...'

Checking his watch, Harry continued the conversation on the go. Strolling east through the urban muddle that was London. Mark filled-in the GOKIA chairman regarding what had happened with Richard. Given the programmers love of small-talk, he then continued to babble on about the _immersion_ setup Booples needing an update, team two running behind schedule, and that Richard seemed pretty keen for the demonstration later.

'But Richard is alright?' Harry clarified, 'Yana was a bit worried about something?'

'Uh...He might have been left a little _confused _what with the _bottling_ yesterday.' Mark explained slowly, ensuring he picked his words carefully. 'After today, I want him to take a few weeks off. We don't know the long-term effects this is having.'

'Uhh. He's not going to like that.'

'Sucks to be him.' Mark replied humorlessly.

Harry wrapped the conversation up quickly, thanking Mark for his help before pocketing his softscreen. With some time to spare, he wandered over to Islington via a quick detour to the canal. London was a busy place and Harry had to take into account pedestrian traffic on his walk to the Britannic conference centre. Even with his new routine of morning runs and a low-fat diet, Harry was panting by the time he met his aid waiting outside Sutton Hall.

'Thanks uh…'

'Maddison.' She filled in once more, shaking her head once Harry had passed. The well-dressed aged woman put Harry's absent-mindedness down to nerves, although the man had a reputation of being bad with names. She brushed a few crumbs off her blaiser before following him into the conference room.

It was nearly an hour later that Harry Eisenhower found himself on centre stage looking over collection of seated businessman and woman. Many were secretaries or involved with certain minor politicians within Britannica. Maddison pointed out the people to impress; namely a young man from the UN global development sector and an Amazonian lady who, if swayed, might be open to such technology expanding into the Americas. Given that GOKIA was one of the most well-known companies in the world, Harry had expected more to show up.

With his softscreen hidden on the lectern in front of him, Harry cleared his throat.

'Thanks everyone. I'm Harry Eisenhower, chairman of GOKIA, and will be demonstrating a new technology our cutting-edge gaming company has been working on…'

However, even with such a well-organised presentation, the real work was going on behind the scenes. Richard didn't hear the introductory speech. He was over two-hundred kilometers to the south and still on Jersey. He rubbed at his eyes wearily, all too aware of how little sleep he got last night. Jean, the only person left in the office yesterday afternoon, had sent him home early. Nobody else had been there to help when Richard had once more been _bottled_ out of HORIZON.

Normally it wouldn't have been a big deal. But this time it was different. This time, Richard had a ringing in his ears and a constant worry at the back of his mind whispering _bi-direction uplink_ over and over again.

The next morning dawned bright and early for the _immerser _and (potentially) part-time _space_ welder. Richard found himself curled up in his duvet on the floor of his small bedroom. The curtains had been left open along with the windows, sunlight streaming onto his face. Richard blinked himself away, yawning with a stretch.

Something didn't feel right.

Ignoring that fact that he was still dressed, Richard headed into the bathroom and splashed himself a few times with cold tap water. Steadying his hands, he foamed up some bar soap and shaved slowly, studying himself in the mirror as he did so. Tired bloodshot eyes stared back.

Richard winced as he dried off his chin. For some reason he'd lost all hand-eye coordination, slicing thin paper-cuts across his cheeks rather than the smooth shave he'd normally expect. Rubbing at his ears tiredly and even they felt wrong. It was as if they should have been positioned so low on his head. Something really didn't feel right.

After a cold breakfast of orange juice and bran flakes, Richard caught the bus into St Helier as normal. He couldn't help but feel a disattachment as he flashed his travel card and grabbed a seat. With his head spinning, Richard almost felt drunk as he hopped off at the industrial state corner and walked into the GOKIA headquarters.

'I didn't know purple was your colour.' Susan greeted him at reception, winking as she slipped over his keycard. Richard blushed, looking down over himself to find that he was indeed wearing one of Harry's fleeces. It was two sizes too big but bright purple in colour.

Richard faked a shiver, 'I was feeling cold.' He lied.

Susan smiled, watching him leave. She could see from the man's timetable he was booked into medical check-up for that morning. Richard weaved his way towards the elevator, treading on his toes almost as if he was creeping across the foyer. Having worked with computer programmers for a few months now, Susan shrugged off the weird behaviour as something statically more common for computer nerds.

Mark was the one to greet Richard when he stumbled into Yana's office. The Asian man had been on holiday for the past two weeks, and was noticeably a bit more portly than usual. His ready smile dropped upon seeing the young welder nearly fall into his chair. Richard pulled his legs up onto the seat next to him, spinning slightly from the changing centre of mass.

'Morning.' Richard added at last, eyes flicking between Mark and Jean watching him with small frowns.

'You look like shit.' Mark leant against the table, studying the young man. 'Jean offhandedly...Excuse the pun...mentioned that you got _bottled _again yesterday? Correct?'

Richard nodded. Was it just him or did it always smell of oranges down here?

'Well you're going to the nurse right now.'

'It's not booked until eleven! Honestly, I'm fine!' Richard argued. He felt the need to snarl but stopped himself a moment before he started to bear his teeth.

He suddenly became aware of the reaction.

The blood drained from Richard's face.

'Hey. Hey what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost?'

In truth, Richard was internally freaking out over a very different matter. The strange sense of smell, depersonalisation on his bus-ride in, and even waking up sleeping on the floor...it all started to make sense. The man stared at his hands, trying to ground himself in the sudden realisation. Counting his fingers back and forth, the _immerser_ failed to notice the growing worry painted across Mark's face. _Richard _the man thought _not Bagheera _as he tried to shake himself into his own body.

'Sorry.' The Richard replied at last, adjusting himself to sit in the chair like a normal human being. 'This...uh…'

He was about to say _bottling _but quickly realized that although he might have been terrified at the lasting implications of the computer glitches, he was _more _terrified about never being able to see his brother again. With startling speed a whole heap of arguments and counter-arguments whistled through the young man's head. Just how important were the risks when being _immersed_ inside of HORIZON was so great?

Richard faked another shiver to try and play the illness-off as one purely physical, rather than a result of the mental battle raging on inside of himself. No. If anybody ever found out he was having mental side-effects they'd never let inside again. His newly-kindled relationship with his brother would be over before Richard could even say _Bagheera_.

'Sorry.' The young man apologized, 'I don't think I've woken up fully yet.'

'Well time to get chipper. You think you're up for this welding thing this afternoon?' Mark asked, 'After your medical check-up of course?'

'Hell yeah.' Richard replied with a grin, even as something at the back of his brain fretted about the risk of another _bottling_. He'd done enough of his own research to know that the Neuralink connection worked both ways. For all intensive purposes, during _immersion_ Richard was effectively adding his brain to the HORIZON hardware. The computer and his brain became one system, with coding firing through his neurons in a way thought impossible beyond their small research group.

After a boring morning of helping Jean run a few errands on following up a cabling order, Richard couldn't get outside fast enough on his lunch break. With his hands in his pockets, and the over-sized purple fleece unbearably warm, the young man took a stroll around the industrial estate to catch the sea breeze blowing in from the west. The medical check-up had gone as expected, what with a few blatant lies and a blood-pressure test.

When Yana finally synchronized clocks with Harry for the upcoming _immersion_ demonstration, Richard had already been waiting impatiently for nearly an hour. Running through the actions in his brain, the man had to remind himself of his true profession. He might have avoided picking up a MIG welder for a couple of months, but Richard had been working the trade for so many years that the process of attaching the ground clamp and setting up the gas flow was second nature. The motions were muscle memory.

In space things were a little different.

First of all, there was a distinct lack of air. Richard would have to monitor oxygen and argon flow simultaneously to maintain the flame without creating a fireball - all the while piloting a strange four-appendaged robotic worker over two-hundred kilometres above his head. In fact, Richard was looking forward to the robot part the most. Much like his time spent with James inside HORIZON, the immersion set-up with Booples created an near-perfect version of reality for him to work inside.

Having already tested out the LEONOV-4 numerous times, Richard couldn't wait to once more play around in manual robot currently in perpetual freefall around the earth. It was everything his human body wasn't - sleek, highly maneuverable, dexterous...and floating in orbit of course! There was some underlying childish glee in thinking he'd _technically_ be working in space.

'Booples is warming up.' Yana confirmed as Richard began to slip on the haptic feedback suit. He'd spent so many hours inside the rubbery wet-suit like material that the suit now fitted his noticeably skinnier form perfectly. Feeling the comfortable tightness of the fabric and thousands of microscopic electrodes for simulated touch and temperature, the _immerser_ let his muscles loosen. A bubble of excitement burst in his stomach.

'Better get you in.' Yana grumbled, leaning back in her office chair with a chunky laptop on her lap. With her feet raised to rest on a number of plastic containers, she looked as every bit as tired as she was.

Richard had learnt how to wiggle himself into the harness of the _immersion_ equipment Booples with a combination of ease of skill. However, Yana still had to plug-in the headset to the server bank, along with the various leads from the treadmill and haptic feedback suit. It left Richard hanging in what looked like a spider's web.

Yana scratched at her eyes, triple-checking the digital readout from the Neuralink which was in the process of warming up. Fixated with the worrisome problem of random _bottlings, _she needed all the data she could. It was as if the sudden disconnections were sourced from something _inside _HORIZON rather than any hardware issues in their Jersey supercomputer. Yana scratched her chin in thought. There was no explanation as to why the random ejections were happening.

Richard already had his headset pulled down over his eyes and couldn't see the half-Czech's worried expression. She hummed to herself lightly as before declaring,

'Right! Go for launch.'

Richard barely heard the announcement. Instantly all sensations of the outside world shrunk into the black void of the SONY loading screen. He was shot down the barrel of a multicoloured canon into star-studded space, before being dragged through a psychedelic wave of panic and hypnagogia.

The awareness of his new body arrived slowly.

LEO-11 was active.

The man blinked. Or at least he _tried_ to. The cameras of the LEONOV-4 were constantly running images into his mind showing metallic claws floating before his face. With practiced ease he settled into the four-legged robotic form, currently hanging limply from the edge of the B73 section of the "_Shackleton Circuit" _orbital ring. Gleaming solar-panels made up the space before him and the earth hung below, a shimmering blue marble which consumed his attention.

For a few seconds Richard just floated there.

'Hey bud. Harry wants you in in fifteen.' Mark's curt tone cut through the speaker. For LEO-11, the voice sounded from inside the hardware of his CPU unit positioned somewhere in his chest. It was a strangely hollow sound as he tested out each of his limbs in turn. Next came the dexterous monkey-like tail used to manage roll, pitch, and yaw for the sleek feline machine.

'Cool.' LEO-11 responded, already feeling on his back for the welding gas canisters stored there. The torch equipment was actually built into his right front limb and could be controlled at will. Slowly but surely, LEO-11 maneuvered over the exterior of the orbital ring.

The "_Shackleton Circuit_" was a thin construction barely ten metres wide which was being joined in sections. Each unit was composed of an elongate cylinder of steel which had to be welded in place with perfect precision to ensure an air-tight seal. LEO-11 ran through the procedure in the back of his mind. The sleek feline robot scrambled from section B73 to the next section B74 which was still incomplete.

The sun illuminated the matt-black paint of the LEONOV's metallic body. The exposure time of LEO-11's lenses changed automatically, dimming the sight of the earth spinning below. Clouds billowed like raggeded sheets of tissue over rough Atlantic seas.

'Ok Mark I'm in place.' Richard confirmed.

'Cheers Rich. Feel free to start on.'

'Thanks.' The _immerser_ responded. It was a strange experience replying whilst in control of the LEONOV. Richard thought the words through the Neuralink connection and into the computer system, all too aware that his robotic body lacked anything capable of speech.

'I'll get cracking.' And with that, LEO-11 found the correct place to start a seam and fired up the flame on one his disposable arms. B75 cylinder waited alongside the end of the B74 waiting to be attached.

Mark acted as CAPCOM for the entire time, relaying to Richard the moment filming started. Another LEONOV-4 machine, this time directed remotely by Jean, acted as the camera. Mark watched from a screen in Jersey with interest the welding process. Now and then he'd ask Richard to adjust his position to ensure the best picture.

The earth hung below omnipresent, often drawing LEO-11's attention away from his job attaching B75. It didn't take long and already, due to his speed creating faultless seams between the forty-foot long compartments, he moved on to B76. Richard had been an experienced and fairly gifted welder amongst his peers. The extra dexterity of the LEONOV made the chore a feat of precision and art.

Only Yana, still sat in the back room of her office, was keeping track of the livestream from London. The computer programmer had one eye on Booples whirling away contentedly and the other on her laptop screen. The video-feed displayed a rather overweight Harry squeezed behind a pedestal. The businessman was discussing with wide hand gestures the application of the very machine she was monitoring. Booples purred happily.

In the background a quickly bodged computer script was running a filter-search algorithm churning through _bottling_ crash reports. Yana, sweeping away a fringe of red hair to watch the livestream, didn't notice the error that popped up.

_Missing number_

A small window at the bottom of her laptop screen flashed the message every few seconds.

_Missing number_

In London, Harry was fully immersed in his talk. When it finally came to his concluding remarks, he didn't want to leave the stage.

'And there we are folks.' He announced when it came to the final slide of his presentation. Eisenhower was impressed, not for the engagement of the small audience, but for the skills Richard had demonstrated. One man had assembled two sections in forty minutes! It was something which had taken remotely supervised systems in orbit over four days.'

'I'll be around for questions in the break after the following talk.'

The small congregation of around forty professionals clapped respectively and Harry descended off the stage. He took his seat quietly as another speaker took his place. Madisson gave him a thumbs up.

When it came to the coffee break, the chairman of GOKIA was neatly pulled into a number of conversations. Many were in regard of the expansion of GOKIA into space technologies. It was something Eisenhower brushed off as a small exchange for using Britannica as the home country for his business. A younger intern chatted for a few minutes on the immersion technology, and Harry handed his business card out to a few older professionals which had showed some interest.

He had to excuse himself from one dull conversation to snatch up the last of the provided biscuits.

To be fair, Harry was expecting more enthusiasm. The lack of response was down-heartening. Scratching at his balding hair, he tried to understand why the demonstration had failed to draw any of the big players. The ESA representative hadn't even glanced at him, nor had the Scottish Space Systems chairman, or anyone else from the Eurozone.

Standing glumly with a coffee in one hand and his fifth biscuit in the other, Harry tried to hold back a sigh. Madisson hung by his side, sipping a chamomile tea as she studied the small crowd. Harry ignored her mostly, lost in his own musings, before she cleared her throat. Turning to his aid, the businessman paused upon seeing the well-dressed figure step forward. The man wore a loose checkered-shirt tucked into tight trousers, although a mass of grey hair and tufty side-burns ruined the look. Smiling a professional smile with only a small degree of warmth, it took Harry a moment to recognize the figure.

'Dr Heath?' Harry asked incongruously, taking a moment to tuck his shift back in. 'You've aged.'

'Could say the same about you.' The academic grimaced, eyeing Harry's significant fat reserves and the rolls of skin marking his receding hairline. 'But please, call my Tyler.'

'Sure.' Harry adjusted his tie with chubby fingers, 'You still based at UCL then? Didn't think space science conferences were your sort of thing?'

'Ah. Well. I got an email pop up that some talks were on. It was lucky that I saw your name on the list.'

'I guess you wanted to scold me again for dropping off of the PhD programme?' Harry grinned sheepishly, getting a long sideways look from Madisson. It had been an old joke between the businessman and the researcher in quantum computing twenty years ago. Now the humour ran cold.

'Actually, I wanted to ask you a few questions about HORIZON.'

'Oh?' Harry put down his empty coffee cup on a spare chair, 'Interested by the demonstration were you?'

'Not exactly.' Tyler tilted his head slightly, scratched at some white stubble on his chin. He was an elderly man at this point with only pride keeping his back straight. Tyler had the perpetual scowl of an academic, beady eyes, and a bad taste in shirts.

'Sorry if this is a little blunt. But you were involved with the exDEV team following your masters. Now you run the only legal AI on the globe. I wanted some advice.'

Harry stood in stunned silence. Tyler had been known with his respective London university as a very stubborn man who did everything himself. His single-mindedness was one of the main reasons that artificial intelligence was born in the first place. The GOKIA chairman regained his composure only a second later.

'exDEV was shut down years ago.' The large man huffed, before playing with his tie.

The academic scratched at his mass of grey hair.

'If that was true, we wouldn't be having this conversation.' Tyler grimaced.

Maddison had been following the conversation closely. She had known Harry's history as a student at UCL in the computer science department, but hadn't realized he was involved with the first true artificial intelligence. Given that Harry dropped out of his PhD to later found GOKIA, it kind of made sense.

Once more the softscreen in Maddison's blazer pocket buzzed. She plucked out the small device and thumbed open the lock screen. Eight messages glared with high priority alert. Each was from Yana and had the same subject line,

_REPLY ASAP - Missing No._

'Harry?' She interrupted at last, 'We have a problem…'

* * *

END

* * *

This chapter came out a lot later than first anticipated as I am moving house and starting a new job. I also got distracted writing a fluffy oneshot 'The QWERTY Complex' as some of you may have seen. From this point on, updates should be back to weekly/fortnightly. If delays are expected I'll leave the comment at the top of my profile.

I touched on a few odd terms in this chapter of EOrRRoR, with the only real jargon being CAPCOM - which is basically a shorthand for 'capsule communicator' and is the person through which information is relayed in NASA manned missions. The Robot LEONOV-4 is named after the first person to walk in space, Alexei Leonov, as well as the shorthand 'LEO' matching the cat theme portrayed in this fic. For those that have read my other fanfiction 'BLACKOUT', the _Shackleton Circuit_ constructed in this story (as well as references to the _spectre_ scheme) acts as an alternative history to the BLACKOUT timeline.

As always, a huge thankyou to those of you that have recently followed and favourited! Thanks also to Johnathan-Mandrake for the review (hopefully you've recovered from the crash). Look out for another chapter in the coming weeks. Enjoy!


	11. Chapter 10

[CHAPTER 1010]

* * *

"_...I like that sound like I got back there..."_

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

'Who's a good boy?' James asked playfully, running his fingers through the thick purple fur on Bagheera's neck and back. The Pokémon had once found this activity rather demeaning and would have squeezed out of the close embrace. However, having spent two weeks outside of HORIZON on Marks request, Richard was all too happy to throw himself back into the computer generated world. He didn't realize just how much he missed his feline form in the virtual reality world.

'Who's a good boy?'

Bagheera bobbed his head in affirmation that he was indeed a good boy. Whipping his slender tail back and forth, the feline pushed his face into James's chest as if to amplify the petting. The Liepard had missed seeing his brother, what with his easy-going attitude and ever-comforting presence. Even if he _was_ being treated like some glorified pet, Bagheera had been missing-out on all the attention. He was doing all he could to make up for it.

'Did you enjoy your rest?' James continued, scratching at the Liepard ears.

They were still in the lobby of the Pokecentre, where the new trainer had come to collect his prized Pokémon. James had been told that HORIZON updates meant his pet Liepard needed to be recalled for a short period. During the interval he had missed the dark-type intensely. James felt lost without the large feline with whom he seemed to share some mutual understanding. Although James often had to remind himself that living in HORIZON didn't truly count as reality, his connection with Bagheera seemed to be the most solid part of the game.

'James...You're getting in the way.' Rikola was forced to spoil the moment. A cheeky grin hovered over her face as she tried to shuffle the over-excited Pokémon trainer out of the way of other trainers collecting Pokémon from the PC.

'Ah…' James pushed himself to his feet and called Bagheera to heel. 'Got a bit lost in the moment there.'

Rikola just shrugged, running a hand through her blue hair.

Bagheera, however, was still begging for attention. Although he refrained from jumping up at his trainer, he couldn't resist winding his way between James's legs. The finale of all this was the Pokémon rubbing his cheeks against the trainer's jeans. A reassuring scent filled the _immerser's_ nostrils.

'I know. I know.' James patted at the Pokémon's head, 'Let's get out into St Hutton Park and you can meet the rest of the team.'

Bagheera froze, ears perking up comically as his head tilted to the side. What team? An uncertain feeling of excitement and dread rushed up the feline's spine as his bright green eyes narrowed on his trainer. _What team?_

'Somebody looks a little uncertain about that.' Rikola pointed out with a chuckle, sticking her hands in the pockets of her slim shorts. The young adult looked the part as an intrepid adventurer, minus the brightly coloured hair. 'He might be just a _little_ jealous.'

'Bagheera's too nice for that.' James tried to persuade himself gently as they headed outside into the warm sunshine. The Liepard's tail lashing proved otherwise.

Pewter was a green city, with a small centre consisting of short residential towers and office spaced filled by interstitial beach trees. A central park acted as a meeting point for trainers. Pewter filled an elongate valley, margining a gently meandering river. The water filled the town with the scents of trade and brought in a host of local Wingulls which perched on the river-side apartments. Fertile farmland lined the hillsides in the distance, pock-marked by tall wind turbines.

Although not as popular as the bigger city locations, Pewter was more homely than you'd first expect. Lime avenues swayed in the breeze overhead as the two trainers ambled down the highstreet. Electric cars zoomed past with many taxiing different virtual players from one tourist attraction to the next. The geological museum to the east of the town was of particular interest...even if James had already visited it three days in a row.

'The gym is going to be super-busy at this time.' Rikola took a second to check her watch, 'The Americans are all going to be on and you know how _annoying they are.'_

'It's good we have other plans!' James explained in a manner which seemed over-enthusiastic to Bagheera. They followed the narrow lane between a residential block and popped out on the edge of St Hutton Park. A couple of acres of lime avenues and beech trees were often quiet apart from the odd group training their Pokémon.

'Well this is a good a spot as any.' James placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the parkland. 'Maybe we can discuss our mission!'

'If we choose to accept it...' Rikola muttered, only getting a blank stare from her friend. She waved off the outdated joke and motioned for James to continue.

'Right Bagheera. Sit! Ok...Well you've got a new partner to work with on our team! Rikola can introduce her new Pokémon herself, but you can say hello to 'Star' the Starly.'

There was a flash of red light and Bagheera, who had previously been sat down at his trainer's heels, jumped back in fright. The beam from a Pokéball flashed and a small pigeon-like bird materialized. It appeared just as startled as the large feline towering above her. The small bird barely scraped a foot tall. Shaking its wings off, the bird bobbed her head in greeting.

'Uh...Hello?' Bagheera responded in kind. The leopard-like Pokémon inched forward to sniff at the bird. It was something that Bagheera did without thought as the dark type's eyes narrowed on the creature.

'_**I'm Star!'**_ The bird bobbed again, '_**You must be Bagheera, who I have heard so much about.' **_

Again. The feline's shy nature crept to the surface. Thankfully, any awkwardness was saved by their trainer who took a step forward to pat Bagheera on the head.

'Right you two! We've got a side-quest given to us from Baba. There's been something strange going on with the HORIZON coding...and for some reason it seems to be associated with users.

'If you've lost me already...I don't know how these computerized unthinking creatures will understand.' Rikola chuckled to herself and dodged a short jab from James. 'It's the truth!'

'Bagheera, you understand don't you?' The young trainer bent down and petted at the feline's cheeks before scratching at his ears. 'Baba says we've got some issues with malicious users, that are trying to play with the HORIZON coding.'

'_**Lie!'**_ The Pokémon responded. For James, this was enough to confirm the Liepard's intelligence. Rikola shook her head. Star the Starly was bouncing up and down in an effort to share some of the attention, before fluttering back with a squawk as the Liepard hissed at the bird in irritation.

'Come on you two...play nice. You're going to have to work together when it comes to this first gym!'

'Oh, talking about that. We better sign up for a slot! There's going to be a bit of a waiting list.' Rikola theorized, pulling out a softscreen to check to the time.

'Well we can make that stop one for the day.' James confirmed, straightening. Getting Star to rest on his shoulders took a few minutes of gentle convincing from the _uploader. _'_**Starrr...' **_the bird-Pokémon muttered in discomfort even with a few calming words from Bagheera. The Liepard was happily trotting by his trainer's side. Rikola shook her head as James tried to recreate the look of a very stereotypical Pokémon trainer.

Pewter city gym, lead by Brock the rock-type expert, was only five minutes walk away. Bagheera trotted down the pavement with his ears perked up watching the serene city around him. It felt good being allowed back inside the computer-simulated world of HORIZON. The Pokémon felt all the tension fall out of his body as he loped ahead, nose picking out the myriad of scents hanging in the air. The virtual simulation was a perfect mirror of reality made even better by the heightened senses of his present form.

'Here we go…' James rounded the corner to find the large sign over the gym. Rikola followed with Bagheera tailing, eyeing a passing electric car before following the small band through the sliding doors.

'Welcome to-' An attendant at reception went to speech but was interrupted by a blaring BEEP BEEP BEEP when Bagheera stepped through the doorway. The feline jumped into the air at the sudden sound, hissing in response as he cowered under the audible onslaught.

'Excuse me sir.' The reception attendant leaned over the desk as the alarm finally stopped, 'But you seem to have an issue with your Pokémon.'

By the speaker's _statroll_ James could clearly see the receptionist was a NPC rather than a virtual gamer. Sighing, the _uploader_ pulled out his Pokédex and showed the Liepards details clearly.

'I assure you. He's fully registered.' James turned to the attendant only to find the man had disappeared. Where before a neatly dressed person in brown and white uniform had welcomed him, there was nobody.

'Uh, hello?' James tried, turning to Rikola for backup.

The young woman was nowhere to be seen.

'What's going on?' The _uploader _nearly called out in fright. Feeling the loss of weight of Star from his shoulder, he span to try and find Bagheera at his heels. James's vision suddenly became very blurry and he wiped at his eyes in fear. _This must be some kind of game crash_ he thought to himself, though the knowledge that he wasn't a player who could simply log out made the experience terrifying.

'HELP!' James's voice broke, 'BABA!?"

The feline Pokémon was at his feet still...but something wasn't right. The Pokémon had become pixelated, jittering forward as he attempted to walk towards it's trainer. James yelled, stepping backwards away from the now snarling Pokémon. It's three dimensional textures were blitzed to the point that Bagheera looked no cleaner than a wire-frame model.

Each blocky pixel was filled with the same error warning.

_Missing No _

The Liepard, now a muddled collection of textures that had failed to load, stuttered. James was pinned against the reception desk in the lobby. With tears flecking his eyes he cringed back from a sudden flash of white. The last thing the _uploader_ saw was the silhouette of his pet Liepard thrashing on the floor.

Blink and it was gone.

Of all the terror-addled thoughts fracturing James's mind, one thing stuck out in particular. He needed to get in contact with Baba, or somebody in the outside world for help. Yana. Mark. Jean. Anybody!

Yana was preoccupied.

Where normally the computer programmer would be no further than a few seconds from some form of technology, she'd been roped into a stupid meeting.

Yana wasn't aware of the first ever crash of HORIZON starting in the supercomputer five stories below them.

The Cezch woman waited in a bland corporate room facing the English Channel. Given that '_England'_ no longer existed, it was yet another memento to a bygone age. Rain splattered the windows although it only seemed to amplify the humidity in the air. Harry Eisenhower was sweating profusely, beige tie hanging limply over top of a moist striped shirt. It did little to hide the significant amount of weight he carried.

Yana sat next to him. The two adults, businessman and computer programmer, were as dissimilar as you could possibly be. Whereas Yana was a bundle of energy with a hyperactive (and hyper-intelligent) mind to match, Harry was broad and deliberate. Yana was spontaneous, Harry was calculating. Every thought was tailored to assess cause and effect.

Yana had her feet up on the table, purple Dr Martens resting on the wooden table top before Harry pushed them down.

'That's mahogany!' he grumbled before clearing his throat. 'You need to be on your best behaviour.'

Yana snorted, pushing long curly ginger hair from her eyes. Tugging her felt jacket around herself, Harry eyed the woman as she fished something out of her pocket. Sweat was beading on the chubby man's rounded neck and he wiped it away. With a frustrated grumble, he was almost tempted to ignore Yana when she dropped a can of soda on the table. The man shot his friend a disgruntled look,

'Seriously…?'

Yana pushed the can towards him before speaking lightly in her Czech accent,

'You...You let me speak freely.'

'Do you honestly believe I could stop you?' Harry snorted, 'Deal.'

Yana lifted her eyebrows and for a moment it was as if she was going to speak. The woman twisted her hair with a finger before sighing loudly.

'Why us? Haven't we got more important things concerning us?' The computer programmer moaned. 'I've got _better _things to be doing right now!'

'Because Dr Heath is an old friend...and because you said he might be right! I thought you were concerned about this _missing number_ stuff or whatever that means. Some issue in the coding?'

'That's the error message.' Yana rubbed at her cheeks, fidgeting in her seat. It was clear that she was getting frustrated. The chairman of GOKIA let his eyes dance around the small board-room. Yana reminded him once again that the group of academics were late. Harry had his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his hands.

When the team from London did arrive, consisting of Dr Heath, a female colleague, and a rather smart gentleman who introduced himself as being from the civil service, Yana was foaming at the bit. When tea and coffee came a few minutes later, Harry Eisenhower cut the chase.

'Right then. Now we're all here, including Yana, perhaps we can go through the data.'

The can of soda, still dappled with moisture, stood on the table between them.

Dr Tyler Heath, who maintained his request to simply be called Tyler, cleared his throat. He wore a pink tie over a rather garish blue shirt that was the academics only attempt at appearing formal. A small cup of coffee clasped in his hands had yet to kick in. Tyler rubbed at his eyes as he flipped open the screen of his laptop.

'Ok. I went through the dataset again and given that GOKIA is one of the few serious online corporations which are transparent with data usage-' Tyler tilted his head towards Harry, 'It's provided the best indication of anomalies.'

'Anomalies similar to the micro-transactions that exDEV was running when it first broke out.' Tyler's co-academic provided, talking over the edge of her mug.

'Processing being completed in the wrong place?' Yana asked quietly, 'That may also be a result of relocation of server usage during periods of high stress.'

Harry nodded, glad that Yana could jump in so quickly. Normally the woman was introverted to the point that in many meetings she's simply sit and listen to the speakers. Perhaps as the subject matter concerned her own coding, she was happier to defend the academics snappy questioning.

'During periods of low online user counts?' Tyler countered, pointed at his laptop screen. Yana shook her head.

'HORIZON can act as random generator for some platforms. During periods procedural generation, processing may be drawn from other areas.' The female programmer explained speedily. Yana often found that her mouth failed to match the speed of thoughts in her head. It often resulted in her missing out certain words.

Tyler, who was sat across the dark wooden table from the two GOKIA members, looked from Yana to Harry and back again.

'HORIZON isn't programmed like you'd expect.' Harry simplified. 'But since uh…**he's **here. This must be a bigger issue than what you suggested in London.'

The large man was useless with names and reddened slightly upon failing to refer correctly to the civil servant. Unlike everyone else in the room, he was suited and carried a small notebook instead of a softscreen. A few years younger than Harry, the government employee carried his age well as he fixed the GOKIA chairman with a hard stare.

'exDEV is an international threat Mr Eisenhower.' The civil servent still refused to share his name, 'We've had reports from other officials of behaviour on other computer systems which are suggestive either of the artificial intelligence itself...or that something similar might exist.'

Harry groaned,

'Let me get this straight. It's not exDEV you're interested in here but the fact you think GOKIA might be doing this?' The rounded man leaned forward and the table squeaked as it struggled to hold the extra weight.

'Doing what?' Yana's eyes had also narrowed. 'I doubt Baba would do anything you suppose! WE are COMPLETELY transparent with our work!'

'Whoa calm down.' Tyler patted the air in front of him. The gesture looked like more like a lame excuse for a dance move than an attempt to diffuse the situation. 'Stop jumping to conclusions. We're talking about exDEV here.'

Harry crossed his arms, 'Go on.'

'Our data suggests unusual peaks in activity between computerized share transactions on the Japan Exchange Group, at the same time as unusual memory usage on the GOKIA systems..._and_ drop in performance of the Nintendo platform on HORIZON.'

'Anything else?' Harry asked, though to everyone else around the table it sounded more like a demand.

'Well…' Tyler trailed off, leaning back in his chair as his co-academic filled in the gap. She wore a flowery shirt which only seemed to enhance her delicate features. However, it was the civil servant who butted into the conversation with overtly smooth words.

'Whatever the case, these events seem tailored towards influencing GOKIA at every level.'

'And when did this start?' Harry phrased the question nonchalantly, even as his stubby fingers flicked across his softscreen to the calendar app. Yana eyed the motion as she rolled an empty mug between her hands.

Tyler scanned through his own softscreen opposite.

'The twenty-sixth of May...that's the first thing I have on my system.'

Harry was already on that date checking through what he had booked into his diary. Yana whistled as she leant over to read the entries of the man's schedule.

'That's the date that we started the immersion with Ri-'

BZZZzzz

The light's flickered. For a brief moment the meeting-room grew dark. Yana froze. Harry almost dropped his cup of Coffee as the LED strip lights flickered momentarily. A second later and everything was back to normal. Yana continued as if nothing had happened.

'That was when we first tested the _immersion _set-up.'

'And could that have caused any strange effects?' Tyler asked, taken aback by Harry's scowl as the fat man prodded a finger towards the academic's laptop.

'Just load up the files and run through the issue.'

Tyler rolled his eyes but did as the man said. It took a few minutes of awkward silence as he clicked through the security and eventually found the correct documents. Harry drummed his fingers on the table while he waited. Tyler turned his laptop around and was just about to speak when there was a knock on the door.

Harry swore, before remembering he was still in a meeting, and called for whoever it was at to come in. The businessman had to make a show of being angry at the disturbance, not really contemplating why somebody would need to interrupt. Perhaps there had been a power cut, given the momentary loss of power a few minutes earlier.

His elderly aid, Madison, poked her head around the door.

'Sorry to bother you Mr Eisenhower. We've had an issue down in Yana's office.'

_Richard? _was the first thing Harry thought. Yana's office was effectively codework for the _immersion_ device Booples located in her back room. Something like that wouldn't have normally have phazed Harry, but the look of concern on Susan's normally sweet freckled face convinced him something was wrong.

'Thanks Madison.' Harry replied as calmly as possible before turning to Yana. The programmer was out of her chair already, patting Harry's bald head as she squeezed past his chair. Eisenhower wasn't sure if Yana actually wanted to find out what the issue was...or if she was simply using the interruption as an excuse to leave the meeting.

'How about we have a look at the data after a short tea break?' The businessman suggested lightly, ignoring Tyler's concerned look. 'This sounds important and it'll give you time to set up the projector and to _actually_ organise a presentation perhaps?'

The latter referred mainly to the academics as Harry struggled to his feet. Flashing a grin, he backed out of the room. Only then did he let his facade drop.

'Shit.' Harry stressed to himself as he strode past the elevator to the stairwell, 'Shittity shit shit.'

When the businessman finally descended the multiple floors underground and pushed his way through the double doors to the very chilly underbelly of the GOKIA branch, he found Yana's office empty. The back door however, which still had 'DO NOT ENTER' scrawled across it, was ajar. Panting heavily, Harry blundered his way across the room and nearly tumbled into the large chamber housing Booples.

'Whaa…?'

Harry's brain couldn't contemplate what the hell was happening.

Richard was sprawled across the floor within his haptic-feedback suit, looking much like a fish out of water. Mark was kneeling beside him, alongside somebody dressed as a medical professional. On the other side of the room Yana was furiously bashing buttons on one of the many computers trailing off Booples. Jean was the one actually holding down Richard. The _immerser_ was thrashing on the ground as Mark helped to retract something metallic from the back of his head. The lightning bolt logo of the Musk Foundation could be clearly seen on the Neuralink, which was still in direct contact with Richard's scalp.

'What's going on?' Harry managed to mouth at last, feeling the blood drain from his face. 'WHAT the HELL is happening!?'

Yana blanked him. Jean the mute couldn't reply even if he wanted to. Out of all the adults in the room, it was Richard who answered. The young man's eyes were wide in a combination of shock and pain. He grunted but the sound came out as a shallow trill than anything human.

Harry took a step back, too confused to speak.

'Richard?' He tried, 'Are you...are you alright?'

The former-welders eyes were glassy.

'_**Liepard?' **_Richard mumbled in response, dragging out the last syllable in pain, '_**Liepaaarrd?'**_

* * *

END

* * *

Unlike nearly all the chapters previously, I didn't notice anything in this edition of EOrRRoR that needed any extra information. exDEV is becoming a more prominent feature of this story, the history of which was explained in the introduction (and a little in chapter 1) of this fiction. As always, a massive thanks for reading! This story has now become my most popular ever in terms of views thanks to you. Enjoy!


	12. Chapter 11

[CHAPTER 1011]

* * *

"_... lot of it is flashing in the local vicinity…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

Harry Eisenhower tugged at the beige tie constricting his wide neck. For some reason, he hadn't taken it off since returning home that evening. Sat out in his small garden with the sun dipping below the horizon, he felt too tired to sleep.

'Shit.'

Harry had hoped saying the words out loud would have helped somewhat. Instead, it only made things worse. Scratching at his balding head, he wrung his rounded fingers in frustration. He paced back and forth the same stretch of grass over and over. Running from your problems lead you nowhere.

'Shit.' He tried once more. 'Shittity shitty shit shit.'

'I do not think that will help the situation.' Yana murmured in her plastic lawn chair behind him. She was sprawled out with a bottle of elderflower pressé in one hand, feet resting on a large plant pot. 'I don't want to be the person to say I told you so but th-'

'Yana. Not now.' The chubby man cut through, kicking the grass with a foot. Yana had very rarely seen her life-long work colleague and lone friend as helpless, confused, and as aggressive as he was now. Harry mumbled to himself as he talked through each and every possible outcome. Orange sunlight reflected off the solar panel tiling off the bungalow behind. Apart from the random call of a seagull, the hamlet of Pinvale was silent.

'Shit shittty shit shit.'

The tiny hamlet of Pinvale was silent this time of the evening

In the small bungalow behind, the young Richard was sleeping softly in his bed. In fact, the last time Harry had checked in on him the _immerser_ was curled up tightly in a nest of blankets on the floor. He'd refrained from telling Yana how Richard had moaned in his drug-induced sleep. It was yet more evidence for the effect of the last _bottling_ on the former-welder. Unlike previously, this time the safeguards on the bidirectional Neuralink connection had failed. Instead of uploading consciousness from Richard's brain to HORIZON, the virtual game had been downloaded into his brain. Nobody knew whether the immersion software caused the crash of the GOKIA system, or if HORIZON had tripped Booples. Nobody was prepared for the glitch, least of all Richard.

_At least his brain hasn't gone to complete mush_ Harry hummed to himself. Richard might have been behaving very much like the Pokemon he had been inhabiting inside the virtual world, but he was still able to follow instructions. Mark had suggested that Richard's confused '_Liepard'_ state would wear off after a night's sleep. The GOKIA chairman couldn't hide behind such optimism however.

There was so much to think about that Harry struggled to think at all.

'Why does everything always go wrong...why me?' Harry groaned, rubbing at his forehead. The hopelessness in the man's voice was too much for Yana to bear.

'It's not like that.' She countered, 'These things happen.' It was a weak argument but the female programmer struggled to know what to say.

'Yeah? What...GOKIA tries uploading and then that fails. Then _immersion_...and now look at Richard! How long can we keep this a secret for?'

'What secret…' Yana trailed off. Taking a swig of her pressé, the programmer wiper her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She eyed Harry for a few moments. The man was only now realizing his mistake.

'What have you done?' Yana demanded, 'I'm being serious! You honestly think we can hide this? I know Richard, he might be undis...WHAT Harry!?' She acted out each motion with her hands, an angry display that only acted to spill some elderflower over her long skirt. The chairman of GOKIA had his back to the programmer.

With his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped, the silhouette of the man was all rolls. Sighing heavily, it was a wonder Harry admitted to the steps he'd already taken. At this point he no longer cared. The intrigue, politics, and fighting for technology in a world that refused it. It wasn't a game for Eisenhower any longer.

'I bribed the nurses not to share anything.'

'You...yo-?' Yana spluttered. Harry hadn't finished however,

'I also had to edit Richard's intern files...and change his medical history to make it look like extended periods off work are normal. I shut down the HORIZON platform uploading server, pretty much as soon as I saw what happened in complete breach of protocol. Well...not that we have any protocol for _immersion_ itself. I had to payoff Susan in reception to clear the automated sign-in for Richard into work. I also-'

'HARRY! That's...that's not ok!' Yana managed to control her spluttering and yell at the man.

Harry shrugged, still failing to turn around. It suddenly became clear to Yana just how willing the middle-aged man to bend the rules. In fact, he seemed almost _too_ prepared to immediately break them. Yana, who had been so consumed by her own programming for the past few years, had failed to see the transformation in her work colleague. No, this wasn't the same man who she'd met as an intern nearly two decades ago. This wasn't the same man she'd toiled with endlessly over years to build GOKIA, the figurehead of modern technology businesses.

Harry had grown weary of the world he toiled within. This man had been broken by the endless years as a lone CEO of the largest technology company in the western world. Without knowing why, Yana had been tricked by a cold exterior for so long that she forgot about the lone man inside. Harry Eisenhower had once been young, fit, and full of enthusiasm. Now all she saw was a bored, tired businessman who had still failed to get over the loss of his wife.

When Corey and Harry split, the young technology genius had simply thrown himself into work. Their breakup destroyed him and for months he was rarely seen outside of his office. That wasn't unexpected, given how close the two had once been. But unlike many men who would mourn their loss, Harry never seemed to let go. Work became his only escape. GOKIA was a thriving business giant not because of brilliant teamwork or lucky market maneuvering...but as a testament to Harry Eisenhower's unceasing lament. GOKIA was a company not of success, but of grief.

After the silence had dragged on for a few minutes, Yana became uncomfortable.

'You think this is exDEV then? Not only is it alive...but capable of...this?'

Harry sniffed,

'I have no fuckin' clue. exDEV was a creation years ago that I was barely involved with...beyond some considerations with integrating it into present systems. They shut it down. The only way it could still exist is…'

He trailed off, turning round to face Yana. The programmer tried to ignore the fact that there were tear tracks running down Harry's cheeks. She couldn't stop her eyes glancing back to his face however.

'The concern is whether Baba could have evolved into something like exDEV.' Harry confirmed at last, rubbing at his red eyes, 'Whether she is developing similar traits.'

'There must be an alternative.' Yana argued, immediately becoming standoffish whenever the artificial intelligence was mentioned.

Harry just shrugged, too tired to argue.

'That's our job now. Find each and every alternative until...until we know for sure what is happening. Anyways.' he went to clear his throat but it turned into a hoarse cough. 'You...you better get off. You ok to drive back?'

'Not like I have any choice.' Yana grumbled, pulling herself out of her white plastic chair. The infamous furniture was nearly a hundred percent recyclable and had a habit of dissolving if left out in the rain. She kicked it to the other end of the patio before making her way to the front gate.

The programmer would normally have slipped out quietly without a second thought. But tonight was different.

'Look after yourself Harry.'

'Huh?' The aging man turned around to find Yana, with a worried expression on her face. The programmer suddenly became all too aware of the extra attention and scuttled off. Eisenhower was too consumed by internal worry to care. A minute later and Harry heard the crunch of tires on gravel as her little electric car took to the road.

The balding man turned his attention back to the sunset. It was hard to forget just how similar this evening was to the same night, years ago, that Corey had left him. So much had happened since then, yet also so little.

Harry didn't sleep that night.

He found himself sat at the kitchen table at four in the morning, still in his business clothes, with a cold cup of coffee pressed between his palms. In the background, the news channel was muted on the television barely visible in the living room. Images of the hysteria from the HORIZON crash seemed to appear every twenty minutes or so. Harry no longer cared. The rest of the news was depicting water shortages in Turkey, or further sanctions on Amazonia.

Only once the sun was up and he'd both cooked and eaten all the bacon in his house did the man approach Richard's room.

Harry had the decency to knock first. It wasn't that he was expecting an answer, and nor did he wait for one. The spare bedroom door opened slowly as the man poked his head around. Faint blurry outlines sharpened as his eyes adjusted to the darkened room.

Richard was already awake. The young man eyed Harry over a small nest of pillows and blankets. The _immerser _frowned as he studied Harry, vision narrowing on the man. There was a glassy look to Richard's expression, not the confusion that Harry had noticed the day before.

'Richard?'

The former welder tilted his head to the side suddenly, eyes widening.

'Richard?' Harry tried again, ignoring how much his voice shook. 'How are you feeling this morning?'

There was a long pause.

When the man did at last speak, his small voice confirmed all of Harry's worst fears.

'Liiiiepaaaard…?'

The Pokemon sound was freakishly accurate, something that resembled a rather pointed refusal of whatever Harry had asked. _Can he even understand me_ the large man pondered as he crouched down a little, knees shaking as they suddenly carried his entire bulk.

'Uh…' Eisenhower racked his brains for what James had been calling his Pokemon. 'Ba...Bagheera?'

The young man's eyes sparkled.

'Pard?' He asked quizzically. 'Pard?' the confused man tried again when Harry failed to respond. In fact, the latter's mouth had dropped agape. Pushing away the discomfort rattling his tired mind took more effort than the man cared to admit. _This is my fault_ etched itself into his subconsciousness.

'Uhh...Out of bed then Bagheera. Did you want any breakfast?'

As if commanded, the man hopped off his bed onto the floor. Instead of standing, he seemed more than content on all fours, looking up at Harry with empty eyes. Or at least, eyes empty of any humanity. The chubby man had to look away, pained by the vacant expression. Richard's butt lifted into the air and waved back and forth merrily, making up for the absence of a tail. The man was still dressed in his shirt and boxers, the scant clothing only emphasizing his lack of humanity.

Harry puffed out a sigh.

'Breakfast?' He suggested, not wanting to patronize the man. However, it was quickly becoming apparent that the sparkle of intelligence normally ubiquitous to the man was failing to surface.

Bagheera, for that's how Richard now saw himself, was overjoyed at the prospect of breakfast. He bounded into the hallway without even considering his mess of limbs. Hands tangled with feet and with a crash the man went flying into the wall opposite.

'Richard!?' Harry couldn't respond quick enough, but was met with a small mew of 'Lieeeee…pard.'

Harry shooed the man through into the kitchen. It took a long time to tempt Bagheera into a chair, and even longer to get him sitting upright. Now outside of his nest of blankets, the man began to shiver in the morning air. Rubbing at tired eyes, Harry coxed the confused man back into his old purple fleece. Bagheera gnashed his teeth the whole time, making it very clear how we felt about that..

Scents of toast brought Harry back to reality. Popping the stainless steel toaster before the bread could burn, he weighed giving the food to Bagheera plain or spreading it lightly with butter. In a moment of confusion, Harry had to remind himself the man was still human.

Richard, Bagheera, or whatever the young man now responded to at last sat peacefully at the kitchen table. He chewed on his food with great interest. Pushing bread around his mouth, he crunched on the toast with his mouth open and crumbs flying everywhere. Bagheera's nose twitched with each mouthful. He was too invested in his meal to notice tears moistening Harry's eyes. The later turned his back before Bagheera noticed.

Harry stood at the kitchen sink for some time, scrubbing at the bacon fat over a number of different plates. Warm morning sunlight streamed through the window, although it only seemed hollow somehow. Harry's attention was drawn to the lone photograph sat on the window sill. Corey smiled back at him.

'You warned me something like this would happen.' He told his ex-wife solemnly, 'You warned me.'

'Liiieee?' Richard responded, perking up at the sudden noise. Harry slid another plate of toast over but didn't say anything. He slid another slice of bread into the machine.

The businessmen ate mechanically, chewing and swallowing without thought.

An awkward silence fell upon the house.

Harry was almost glad when his softscreen buzzed with an incoming call nearly ten minutes later. For a moment he was tempted to ignore it. Groaning in acceptance, he prodded at the screen. A video feed opened up displaying a rather sharp-faced Madison. The old lady's ready smile was in bleak contrast to Harry's look of utter exhaustion.

'Hi! Just checking to see why you weren't in today?' The aid asked calmly. She was doing he best to keep a straight face as she studied the broken man gazing back at her through the screen. Grey stubble dotted his round chin.

'I'm working from home today.'

There was a long pause.

'I see.' Madison replied, 'Are you sure that's the best idea, given the circumstances?'

'No. It's not the best idea!' Harry snapped, 'But I'm juggling everything at the moment. Did you get my email? Yes? A formal announcement will be made later this afternoon. I trust you can filter out important messages through to my account? Yana's leading the team through the logs, and the other branches are working to get us online as soon as possible!'

The businessman hadn't noticed that he'd been raising his voice until the end of his sentence, when he found himself shouting at the softscreen. Even in his exhausted state, Harry had the decency to apologize for the outburst. Madison waved it off.

'I think you need a rest.'

'Yeah no fuckin' shit. You think you can hold off the media until this afternoon? That should give us long enough to at least work out why HORIZON crashed…I'll be in later.'

Harry winced as soon as he mentioned returning to work. That was the last thing he wanted to do now. In truth, it would have been preferable to roll into a ball and cry for a few hours, maybe with some sad music in the background. But he was chairman of GOKIA and, like it or not, couldn't simply run from his problems.

'Smarten up and have a shave.' Madison suggested, 'You've got-'

'See you later'

The call ended suddenly as Harry locked his softscreen. He contemplated the blank screen for a few seconds before turning the device back on. A while later and a blanket email had gone out across most of the company saying that GOKIA services would be paused until later that afternoon.

'Liiiiie.' Richard warbled behind, playing with the plate in front of him. Having grown bored, he started pushing the cutlery off the table one by one. Harry had to jump in to rescue his plates before they too crashed onto the floor. It meant dragging himself away from obsessively checking his email, praying for news from Yana.

In truth, Eisenhower knew he shouldn't hope for any messages from the programmer. Work wouldn't start for another hour or so, and it would take a long time to run through the HORIZON crash reports.

Unlike what Harry may have expected, Yana didn't go home last night. She'd checked back into the GOKIA offices around midnight and had been cooped up in her office ever since. It was sheer worry that drove her through the endless hours of coding to find any small issue in the HORIZON software.

The computer genius was so consumed by the laptop resting on her knees that Yana didn't even notice Jean wander in. The french technician had waved, but failed to get a response. Eyeing Yana sat on the floor with her back against the _immersion_ treadmill and a tangle of cables around her feet, the mute lifted an eyebrow in worry. Jean closed the door loudly behind him, hoping the sound for rouse Yana from her frenzied typing.

Jean took a slow sip from his coffee whilst he waited.

When it became clear that Yana hadn't noticed him, Jean had to advance to plan B. He downed the remaining coffee in his cardboard cup before taking aim. With a surprisingly elegant motion for the clumsy Frenchman, he lobbed the drink directly at Yana's ginger head.

The cup colliding with a loud BONK before landing on the floor. Yana jumped in fright rather than pain, cursing under her breath as she surveyed the room. Her eyes narrowed on the suspected culprit stood before her. Jean, however, was also eyeing the crime scene. He glanced around the small room as if somebody else had thrown the container.

Yana sighed, too tired to even acknowledge the joke, glowering at the man.

Jean tried a smile. _Morning _the large man signed. Almost in complete acceptance of the stereotype, he was wearing a striped shirt. It was a snug fit around his large frame.

'Hi Jean.' Yana mouthed, too tired to speak, 'I'm going through the logs to try and understand the crash. You know why it happened?' The programmer tried to sign her words alongside, but her weak hands and tense shoulders failed to convey the emotion like they normally did.

Jean was particularly sensitive to such changes in body language. Giving Yana yet another worried frown, he popped out of the room to grab his laptop, before taking a seat on the floor next to her.

The two programmers worked in silence. They didn't even notice when Mark came in late, poking his head around the door to see both Jean and Yana hard at work.

'Missing textures...' Yana threw her head back in annoyance, 'Aghhh why does this make no sense!?'

Jean shrugged,

'You're not helping.' Yana grumbled. This only seemed to anger the French man who shot her a flat look. With a slow and very exaggerated motion, he turned his laptop to face her before pointing at the screen. Yana rubbed at her eyes before trying to make sense of the multiple coding windows squeezed onto the screen. Why had she convinced herself it would be a good idea to pull an all-nighter?

'Wait.' Yana pushed her computer off her knees before snatching up Jeans. 'What's that?'

Shaking his head in bemusement, Jean leant over to point out the latest script running.

Yana watched the script run through to completion. There was a minute of silence as she stared at the result, her eyes flicking between the laptop screen and Jean's worried expression. Her sleep addled mind failed to accept the result in front of her. So much so that she only snapped up her softscreen ten minutes later. It took her that long to convince herself of what she was seeing.

The video link went through almost instantly.

'Yana?' Baba responded, the render of a perfect (if slightly freckled) pale face appearing on screen. A backdrop of green trees and a forest landscape was present behind her narrow shoulders. 'I saw you going through the crash reports from the various subsystems. You come-'

'Yes yes.' The Czech woman cut through the AI, 'This is from outside the system? Correct?'

Baba appeared to ponder the question, faint wrinkles appearing across her computer-generated face. The intellgence had a distant expression. It likely meant that the true AI under the facade was churning through data faster than any technology currently in existence. A few seconds later and angelic woman let out a small tut.

'You're right. It's linked across a few users...overloading an unusual space in my servers. You think this is malicious? It may have been an accident?'

Jean mimed out betrayal but Yana shook her head,

'We can run the simulations through HORIZON later, for now let's try and locate those users and run their logs. They might be bots.'

'Agreed.' Baba bobbed her head, 'How is Richard by the way?'

Yana paused,

'Well.' She stated after a few uneasy seconds.

'Well what?' The AI's frowned, watching Yana through the softscreen camera in an attempt to read her emotions. The programmer guessed that was happening and relented.

'He's recovering from the _bottling_. It had some lasting effects from the accidental feedback during the crash so he's acting a bit, uhh..._catty_.' Baba's face dropped but Yana kept talking before the AI decided to intervene, 'How's James?'

'Catty?' Baba didn't take the bait, 'You don't mean he's…?'

The sombre expression of the computer programmers face told everything she couldn't put into words. Jean glanced across, confused at Yana's unusual shyness.

'There was an issue with Richard being tagged in the system before the crash.' Baba hummed to herself, 'I don't think it _caused_ it, but I'll run some simulations. How bad was the _bottling_?'

'Bad.' Yana mouthed, 'How's James?' She tried again.

'He's here actually.' Baba reached forwards as if to move the camera on her side of the call. The video feed bumped back and forth before settling on the two of them side by side. The young man gazed into the camera, adjusting the neck of a black hoodie.

'Oh…' Yana didn't know what to say. The rather blatant expression of _I'm screwed_ did run through her head a few times.

The _uploader _quickly filled the silence.

'Richard?' James asked quietly. There was a harsh angle to his chin and a fiery look in his eyes as he regarded Yana through his virtual softscreen. '_My Richard_?'

'Well...there might be something we...uh, failed to mention.' Yana backtracked, waving her arms in a windmill motion before the screen. Jean shuffled away, regaining possession of his laptop once more whilst keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

'This is my brother we're talking about, right?'

Yana tried to think through a million ways of how to deny the fact. However, there was a pleading look in Jame's expression she couldn't say no to. Although James should _technically_ be dead right now, he was effectively trapped inside a computerized world. The teenager's brother was one of the few ties with the real world that Yana knew she couldn't deny the _uploader_.

'Yup.' She admitted meekly, 'Your brother.'

'And he's...he's been _bottled_?' James rolled the word around his tongue, 'Richard _was_ playing as Bagheera right? That cheeky bastard.'

'_Bottled.'_ Yana repeated, before explaining in her naturally frantic manner. 'We were using a new setup to connect...Booples? It's like, linking the brain.' but yeah. Richard was playing. He's...He still thinks he's inside the simulation.'

Yana's arms dropped to her side.

There was a long pause.

'Right then.' James turned away from the video feed to wipe some moisture out of his eyes. At this moment it was all too much to even imagine his brother having been by his side this whole time. Richard, the brother that had effectively ruined his life and left without apologizing? Maybe it was time he got a second chance...

James cleared his throat.

'What can I do to help?'

* * *

END

* * *

This chapter took a little longer than expected, partly due to me being busy with yet another side project. From what I can see, there is nothing unusual in here that needs to be explained. I've been pushing character development for the last few chapters rather than worldbuilding, though there may be some more of the latter to come! As always, a huge thanks for reading this far, as well as to those that have recently added this to their follow and/or fav list! Yet again, a massive thank you to R'love for helping co-write sections of this story and for providing some great ideas and inspiration! The next chapter should be out in a fortnight's time. Enjoy!


	13. Chapter 12

[CHAPTER 1100]

* * *

"_... I wonder if they tried that in the simulator…?"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

Scotland hadn't changed much when it left what was previously the United Kingdom. At least, not in aesthetics. The Scottish people had always thought of themselves as living in an independent sovereign state ever since 'Braveheart' was released in nineteen-ninety-five. It was almost a surprise when the people voted to rapidly join the new North Atlantic Alliance trading union, figure-headed by the scandinavian countries. Norway and Sweden were as close to Scotland as the furthest tip of Cornwall. Thankfully, Edinburgh had stayed the Scottish capital and remained the centre of wealth and civilisation for the hardy Scotts.

Eva often made an effort to explore the sprawling city centre.

Catching a tram down the bleak highstreets, the fifteen-year-old was often surprised at the wealth of independent shops, stalls, and small museums celebrating the likes of Scottish history. Arthur's Seat loomed behind the sprawling city along with the rugged hills of Holyrood Park. Eva enjoyed long walks. They tired her out and feeling of motion helped soften the hours she spent playing in VR. Eva had spent hours traipsing the pretty side streets before heading back to her apartment.

Turning the key in the door of her new flat still felt unreal to the teenager.

The move to Edinburgh had been unexpected, but nonetheless very much appreciated by Eva. It felt unreal, being whisked out of Inverness by a faceless benefactor and thrown into a sprawling apartment in the capital. Such generosity had initially left the teenager rather uncomfortable. However, nearly a month later and Eva was starting to forget about the suspicions this was some type of pampering before a scam. She'd seen it happen numerous times with slightly older _adav's_ back up north. GOKIA had been a faceless company before all of this, but now their name was everywhere. On the bills paying rent, on invoices for her work-from-home job as a _game tester_, and even helping to pay for wireless internet on a monthly contract. Each was signed for by a mysterious Corey Sagan who, despite numerous efforts, was untraceable through the GOKIA employment files.

As soon as she got back in, Eva flicked on the kettle for a hot drink and waited for her computer to load. It took nearly half an hour. HORIZON ran through any system, but the newest SONY headset required a rather bulky personal computer to run. Eva perched on the sofa with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a misty summer morning view across the city. Edinbrugh castle was a proud site amongst the sweep of office blocks and hotels. For some reason, a small GOKIA outlet store was placed across the street opposite. She doubted it was a coincidence that she lived adjacent to the technology store.

'Why's this taking so long?' Eva rubbed at her nose. Since being hired under somewhat mysterious circumstances by the artificial intelligence that ran HORIZON, Eva's life had improved significantly. The sheer relief from being torn out of the dark world of an _advertising avatar _was indescribable. She had a future now. Money was no longer an issue, nor was food or sleep. Eva was no longer the skinny, spotty VR-slave she was before. It wasn't exactly a smooth transformation, but at least she _looked_ like she was getting three square meals a day; even if one almost certainly consisted of pizza.

'Ugh! Come on…!' The young Scott groaned. A small dual screen on the SONY headset was blaring blue and yellow connection warnings. Eva glared at the lockout screen. Nothing like this had ever happened before!

Glass shattered outside.

Eva jumped, headset sliding onto the floor as she bounced off her sofa. There was another smash and then a loud chorus of laughter from somewhere outside. All at once, the years on instinct Eva had gained spent on the streets of Inverness came back to her. She poked her head around the sliding glass door to glance down over the balcony.

A small mob had gathered outside her apartment block on Albeny Street. Hooligans by the looks of it. At eleven o'clock in the morning it was a little too early to be out drinking, even in Edinburgh. A gang of half a dozen hooded individuals lingered by the technology shop. One lobbed a bottle at the GOKIA window, the glass smashing into a small cloud of drink and debris. Such deliberate vandalism was followed by a chorus of holloring. Before Eva even had to chance to question exactly what was going on, somebody a balcony below was yelling demands in a thick accent.

'Jesus.' Eva cursed to herself as another smashed bottle reverberated down the narrow street.

She pulled her only window shut in an effort to shut out the noise of chanting in the background. It didn't achieve much, given the stopping and banging around going on in the apartment upstairs. A light powder of dust sprinkled down from the ceiling.

_What the hell? _Normally the couple above were a quiet bunch that kept to themselves. However, whatever argument they were having was loud enough to percolate through the floorboards to Eva's flat below.

The teenager's softscreen buzzed in her pocket.

Amidst the developing madness, Eva was almost tempted to ignore the message. That was, until another buzzed through a moment later. The shouting upstairs could be heard getting louder and more aggressive. Something was down? Maybe her headset wasn't the only one having problems. Loading up her portable softscreen, Eva eyed the number of text messages that crowded the screen. Seven in total. All of them from a contact listed as BABA

'Emergen-?' Another crash outside interrupted the teenager. Hadn't she just closed the window? 'No shite sherlock.'

Eva fell back into her sofa and tried to block out the holloring from outside. It would only be a matter of time until the police arrive. Better wait this thing out instead of staring out of the window. With a small mob outside, it was better not to draw attention to yourself.

Apparently SMS messages weren't enough for the artificial intelligence. A moment later and Eva's softscreen began to buzz with an incoming call. BABA was listed across the screen in block capitals. With a grunt, the young woman picked up.

'What the hell's going on?' Baba wasn't given a chance to speak as Eva cut to the chase.

'Hello to you too kiddo.' The AI responded dryly before dropping into a more serious tone, 'HORIZON crashed.'

'Whaat!?'

'Didn't you notice? It's been down over an hour. There wa-'

Whatever the artificial intelligence had to say next was cut off by an ear-shattering ring. Eva jumped a foot, dropped her softscreen, and tried to make sense of why the fire alarm was blaring overhead. Although she couldn't smell smoke, the teenager didn't want to risk staying inside. The apparent correlation with the trashing of the GOKIA shop opposite lost on the teenager.

With shaking hands, Eva scooped up her softscreen. The call must have automatically ended as her home screen was visible behind a newly cracked screen.

'Ah fuck that.' Eva swore, frustrated at the fact that the brand new device was already broken.

A notification popped up an instant later with a rather specific statement. Eva could barely read it underneath the hairline fractures running across her phone.

'Airport. Four-thirty. What the-?'

It was then that her softscreen died.

Eva stared at the black screen as if expecting there to be some sudden miracle and a new message from the AI. The airport? Seriously? With the fire alarm blazing above, Eva didn't have the time to ponder over the message. She headed for the fire exit before truly considering the nature of her deal with the rather cryptic woman. A few other irritable inhabitants were jogging down the stairwell as Eva stepped out of her apartment. For a moment the HORIZON network failure and broken headset, not to mention the apparently unprovoked wreaking of the GOKIA outlet, were forgotten. So too was the SONY headset lying on her apartment floor.

Eva had yet to comprehend the meaning of the headset _connection lost_ GIF playing over and over in cycles on the Dreamcatcher.

Things weren't looking so great either side of the divide either.

For James, this was made very clear when Baba finally stopped her incessant pacing and turned to him with a huff. For now, they sat in an abandoned Pokécentre lobby. Nobody manned the desk. Given that the whole HORIZON platform had crashed twenty-four hours previously, there were no players or NPCs to fill the void. The emptiness of the normally bustling and vibrant world was eerie.

Baba paused, before continuing to pace once more.

The AI had her arms crossed across her maroon cardigan with her otherwise perfect angelic face creased into a small frown. It wasn't a common look for Baba. To be fair, the expression was most likely a placeholder for the real computing going on behind as the artificial intelligence ran through millions of datasets all at once.

James knew he was most likely only sharing this time and location with a small fragment of Baba. Given that the AI's job role was huge in order to cover a global gaming network, he often wondered how much of the strange female persona he actually knew. Such questions had only recently become very important to him. Maybe this wasn't the same Baba he'd met all those weeks ago? Not the same strange woman who had introduced him to this new technological afterlife. Just how much of this computer world was constructed to constraint and control him? It was a truth James never knew he wanted to know.

Bagheera had been his brother all this time. Or somehow, his brother playing as the feline Pokémon in a way that was utterly convincing. The whole idea seemed preposterous. Richard had fallen out with their family years ago and had yet to apologise for what had happened. It would be a lie to say James wasn't bitter about the situation. His brother had scuppered any opportunity he once had to go to university, and stolen any dreams James had of becoming an academic geologist. However, he had never hated his brother for it. Richard was an idiot but he made the wrong mistakes for the right kind of reasons. Most of the time.

But of all the ways to make it up to him, why had Richard chosen to be his pet Liepard?

'Don't sweat it Kiddo.' Baba murmured, having once more returned to her pacing. She continued to stop and start like a car in endless traffic lights. 'I don't think it's a big deal.'

'Uhh…' James trailed off. He didn't know how to explain to Baba just how much of a big deal it really was. Richard was a dick. Not just because of his name, but by the way he treated others. James's older brother always put himself before anybody else. The change of heart was appreciated but very much unlike his older brother.

'It doesn't seem real.' The _uploader _muttered to himself, 'He...it's impossible!'

'He might have had a change of heart?' Baba suggested, still pacing. 'And I think the Liepard thingy was Harry's idea. Something to do with training for another feature of _immersion_.' She ran a hand through her hair, obviously still disgruntled with whatever was going on behind the scenes. For now, the AI paced from one end of the centre lobby to the next. A stray pamphlet advertising Pokémon breeding fluttered along the tiles.

For a long while they waited in the empty Pokécentre.

'Baba?'

The AI froze. Where before, James had been mellow and otherwise content to lounge on a lobby sofa lost in his thoughts, he now seemed entirely and undividedly lucid. The question aimed towards the angelic woman was focused at gaining her attention. Not the attention of the simple computerised sprite representing the intelligence, but the _whole_ of her awareness.

'Yes?' Baba replied quietly, tilting her head as if seeing James for the first time, 'Is every-'

'This isn't real is it.'

There was no bitterness in James's voice. In fact, there was no expression whatsoever. The statement was a matter-of-fact acceptance of what now appeared obvious to the teenager.

'All of this is constructed right? And the Bagheera thing is just another...another…'

James wasn't the type to get emotional about anything. He just sighed and with a shrug of his shoulders, explained the dilemma frankly, 'This is constructed to keep me happy...right? How do I know that any of the players were real humans? All of it could have been fabricated? A dream that I'll never wake up from?'

Baba sagged,

'Dreams are only real as long as they last kiddo. But that's the same with everything right?'

It wasn't in her programming to skip forward and scoop the teenager into a hug. Baba did it anyway. The motherly gesture was a warm reminder of human comfort that suddenly felt so alien to James. The teenager froze at the sudden contact, before relaxing in her arms and returning the hug.

'Sorry.' He mumbled into her shoulder, 'It's just…'

'Don't worry about it.' She comforted,

'Do you think he's alright?' James pulled out of the hug and wiped at his nose. 'Richard I mean?'

The AI lifted an eyebrow

'So this is what all of this is about? You're worried about him!' James was already backtracking on his admittance but Baba gave him a light punch on the shoulder. 'I'm teasing you. Anyway, I guess you'll find out the answers soon enough.' Any dramatics in her tone was lost as a result a short giggle that followed, 'Oh, this is going to be interesting.'

James didn't truly understand what Baba was referring to until later.

For a certain Harry Eisenhower, _later_ wasn't coming soon enough. The journey from the airport was taking forever! At that present moment, the businessman was watching raindrops trickle down the taxi window on route to Amsterdam. It was either that or face the hundreds of message on his softscreen, all demanding answers. GOKIA had yet to publicly release any explanation for the HORIZON crash. Twenty four hours later and the outcry was only getting worse. The global network consisting of billions of users was currently out of action with no indication of when it would be online again.

People were starting to get angry, vocal, and in some places fairly violent.

Raindrops raced each other down the windowsill as they sat in traffic approaching the city centre. Puffing out a sigh, Harry turned to the other occupant in the back of the electric vehicle.

'You know, you don't talk much.'

Jean looked up from his softscreen. The large Frenchman seemed to contemplate the incongruous remark with a tilt of his head. After a moment of comic delay, he stuck up his middle finger. The bitterness of the gesture only seemed to highlight how peeved the man was at being pulled out of troubleshooting the HORIZON crash.

Harry sniffed, but decided not to escalate the situation further. All Jean wanted to be on his laptop decoding the problem. Not sat in the car with his overweight boss on the other side of Britannica. The drive lasted for almost another hour until they finally reached their destination.

The taxi lifted another two inches away from the tarmac when Eisenhower squeezed out nearly an hour later. Rain splattered against his balder head. Rubbing at his face with a handkerchief, the man squinted through the downpour. The Amsterdam GOKIA branch building was a small walk from the carpark. To stop any protesters a number of police cars were also pulled up outside.

'Good to know somebody's keeping thing-' Harry began to comment towards Jean. The Frenchman slammed his car door and gave the businessman a flat stare, interrupting any attempt at making conversation. Harry shook his head and wandered off, leaving Jean to thank the taxi driver. He bowed his head under the rain and hot-footed it towards the main foyer.

Two armed policeman waited either side of the sliding doors.

'Uh, going to have to stop you there.' One spoke in a thick danish accent.

'Checks?' Harry guessed automatically, already sticking a pudgy hand into a pocket to pull out his ID. The guard shook his head and with a deliberate motion placed a hand on the chubby man's shoulder. It was a powerful gesture that stopped Harry in his tracks. Jean took a step forward as if to provide support was shot a dark look by the second policeman.

'Entry for eligible personnel only sorry.'

'I run this fucking company.' Harry spat, 'What the hell is that supposed to mean!?'

'I'm just doing my job sir. You've been detained under movement restrictions by Britannica security services.' The Dutch officer responded smoothly.

'Is this an arrest?' Harry smoldered, rolling his large shoulders in an attempt to free the grip of the policeman. He didn't budge however.

'No. Though you have been requested to come along for question at a time that's convi-'

'Then let's get this over a done with!' Harry stared out the officer. The armed policeman looked as old as the businessman and refused to back-down. After a few seconds deadlock, he removed his hand and waved towards the nearest police car. Mumbling profanities under his breath, Eisenhower followed begrudgingly. Jean fell in step but was waved off by the GOKIA chairman.

'It won't take long. Must be some misunderstanding somewhere. You mind seeing over the...uh, download?'

The mute nodded, though his eyes flicked between Harry and the guard now opening the back door of his police car. Jean could read the body language in the situation as easily as reading the emotion off a script. Whatever was happening was little short of an arrest. Jean signed that he'd be in contact. The motion was universal enough that Eisenhower got the message clearly

'Yeah yeah, just drop me a message. I'll meet you back in the lobby once this is over with.'

The Frenchman nodded.

He didn't stick around to watch Harry leave. In fact, he was rather glad to be removed from the man's company. Sighing to himself, he entered the lobby.

A rather smart woman was waiting to meet him. She introduced herself as the lead engineer at the testing facility, and took some convincing given that Harry had failed to materialise. It was even more difficult given Jean was restricted to typing out replied on his softscreen. She took his credential's easily enough however. After being signed in as a visitor, the programmer was led through into the heart of the building. The layout of the GOKIA branch was beyond confused. The lead engineer babbled the whole time, acting as some kind of tour guide. It was obvious that Jean's muteness made the technician uncomfortable.

After what felt like forever, she finally pushed open a pair of double doors to a small laboratory space. Jean was expecting the room to be bigger, though it had a very industrial feel. The Frenchman nodded to himself as he scanned the place. Another two clearly bored engineers were sat around desktop computers, spinning on wheeled chairs.

'So here we are. Seems you're an hour late, we ran the tests already and everything is ready for the download.'

Jean nodded, turning his attention to the centerpiece of the room. He waved his hand towards the machine.

'Ah yes. That's the mark-nine.'

A sleek black LEONOV waiting in the middle of the lab. The machine was oddly feline in character, with continuous 3D printed carbon body panels cover the electronics distributed over four stout limbs. There was a hidden tension to the robot, a lithe energy to the design. Twin lenses stared out from the narrow head, with a lengthy tail hovered above the concrete.

The two engineers jumped up to shake Jean's hand, before taking a moment to show off their creation. The LEONOV was an object of pride for them as they listed off the specs for the cat-like machine. It was a similar size as a large dog but as flexible as monkey. Jean couldn't help but be impressed by the machine. Even more so given that it was designed to work independently in space. Although, this specific robot would have a very different life.

'It'll be interesting to test this model in...uh, more...Terrestrial settings.' one of engineers mumbled, wheeling his chair back over to a computer monitor. 'Are you happy to start the process?'

Jean ambled over and leant on the desk next to the man. Rubbing at his eyes and he squinted at the data on the screen for a few moments. As a life-long programmer himself, the interface for the first ever HORIZON download was sleek yet practical. He hummed to himself, plucking the mouse out of the engineer's hands to scroll through the upcoming command list.

'Uhh...excuse me?' Jean waved him off, already leaning over to type the correct access codes into the mainframe.

'Oh...Yeah. Wow.' The engineer quickly realised that the Frenchman knew exactly what he was doing. 'It may take a few.'

Jean tilted his head to the side, reading through the already executing commands. There was a slight error in setting up the wireless internet connection with LEONOV robot. The programmer trundled through a few actions, naturally becoming consumed with the problem-solving aspect of his work. The three engineers were similarly enthralled by the speed at which the large programmer's nimble fingers worked their way through the coding.

Nobody was paying attention to the feline robot behind.

The LEONOV awoke suddenly, the dual-camera system which operated as eyes auto-focusing on the lab interior. His tail twitched as he became aware of the strange sensation of an extra appendage. The motors in his neck were near silent as he turned to study the black metal of his paws. It felt like he was placed on his hands and knees. Without even thinking about whether it was a good idea or not, the LEONOV pushed up onto his hind legs and balanced there.

'Ugh...hello?' James's voice felt like it was coming from his lips rather than his throat. He felt the vibration of the speaker placed in the head of the robot as if it was his own mouth. 'J...Jean?' James suddenly recognised the old Frenchman who was spun round to face the machine.

Stood on his back legs, James in control of the LEONOV was almost as tall as the Frenchman.

Jean waved awkwardly,

'Uhhh...Hi?' James responded, trying one his somewhat cumbersome paws at waving experimentally. After almost doing a roundhouse swing and knocking Jean senseless, James decided it was better to test that when he had more space.

'Where am I?' He asked in a rather electronic-sounding voice. Duel lenses surrounded his immediate environment and the three engineers staring at him with gaping mouths.

Jean grinned broadly, signing widely with his arms.

The gesture was obvious enough that James didn't need to translate.

_Welcome to Earth _

* * *

END

* * *

In terms of trivia, 'Braveheart' is a film about a 13th century warrior fighting for Scottish independence. It's a patriotic film and worked as a means to an end in EOrRRoR. Everything else is fairly explanatory, with a few shout-outs to the 2001 film 'Waking Life' for the James/Baba conversation. Arthur's Seat is an ancient volcano that you can walk up near Edinburgh.

This was late chapter that got pushed back to a monday, partly because I'd been on the road for the past week. Apologies for any typos, or obvious grammatical errors. This time I'd like to give a thanks to Mordaunt and BIOHAZARD 04 for your great reviews, and R'love of course for your help writing this chapter. Enjoy!


	14. Chapter 13

[CHAPTER 1101]

* * *

"... _I can't seem to get roll to go up. It goes down on me, no matter how I hit the controllers_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

It was a short flight, though made longer by the lack of stimulation. Normally, James would have had headphones in listening to music on-route from Amsterdam to Jersey. Then again, James wouldn't normally be connected remotely via satellite up-link to a LEONOV mark-nine extravehicular machine. His new, robotic feline body was agile and completely unlike his awkward human self. James's lack of ears were one thing. Instead, there was just a strange awareness of microphones located either side of his sleek black head. It made earbuds impractical to say the least.

Then there was a jointed metallic tail hovering nimbly from his behind. It was clear that the LEONOV was not built with economy-class seats in mind. James stumbled as he practiced walking on his new paw-like three-toed feet. metallic feline body. The feline EVA robot wasn't exactly designed for Earth, let alone walking bipedally down the narrow aisle of an airplane. Walking on his hind-legs felt awkward as James stumbled back into his chair.

'Hi. This is your captain speaking.' Pinged overhead, just audible over the rumble of the engines. 'We're beginning our descent. If you could please return to your seats. We should arrive into Jersey Airport at one-seventeen. Weather is looking rainy with an air-temperature of seventeen degrees.'

The private airplane was a small six-seater twin-prop, slower than a jet but in-fitting with a ban on turbine engines long before he was born. James's new body was wider than an average human. So much so that he struggled to squeeze into a seat. A jointed metallic tail hovering nimbly from his behind made a seated position a strain for the cat-like machine. However, there was no feeling of pain in his mechanised frame, not even the sensation of air blasting through the air-conditioning nozzles.

The robotic body was bizarre.

When asking what he could do to help his brother's situation, James wasn't expecting the role reversal. Being outside of HORIZON awoke a strange agoraphobia almost simultaneously to an oppressive constriction that came from the LEONOV. It was like living inside a shell. New and improved senses came through in a confused array of sensations that felt completely alien. More so knowing that in reality, he was merely a parcel of electrons inside some quantum computing circuitry. The simulations in HORIZON were so perfect it was easy to forget such things. Now, every discomfort of his new form only seemed to remind him of the fact.

Jean lent over with a grin from the seat opposite.

It wasn't clear whether the smile was a friendly gesture, or he was mocking James as he wriggled into a more sensible position. The _uploader_ had only seen the Frenchman through the eye of a webcam. He looked much larger in real life, with a habit of wearing striped clothes to fit the stereotype. As a mute, Jean was restricted to pointing at the window as the pair began their crossing of the English Channel. The Weald-Artois anticline was almost visible from the linear chalk ridges marked as hills below. Out of everything, it was the unsystematic geology inherently present in world below that drove home James's return to Earth.

James craned his neck. Motors buzzed as a gyro automatically stabilised the motion. The shifting focus of his binary lenses was not entirely unexpected, acting to zoom-in on the coastline of Brittany below. It was another strange benefit of the feline body that distracted the _uploader _long enough to forget about the empty seat next to him.

Harry Eisenhower hadn't made the flight.

Exactly _why_ wasn't made clear to James. For a moment he studied the empty chair, rolling concerns around his head regarding the GOKIA chairman. Jean had used a text translator to explain something about questioning by some Britannica agency. Given that Harry had said explicitly that he'd be there to welcome the _uploaded_ teenager, his absence was bugging. Jean, however, seemed unbothered by the fact. Being thrown into the real lives of these people made James realise just how little he knew about them all.

The landing was smooth. James knew that from the internalised readout from his motion-detecting self-stabilisation system. It was still confused why they were under the influence of gravity. In fact, the LEONOV was home to whole array of functions that seemed to hover there in the periphery of his awareness. Features obviously designed to help manufacturing in space neatly informed James's how to disassemble the very plane he alighted. His metal feet clunked against the tarmac of a miserable Jersey airstrip.

Rain cascading from the sky in curtains, splashing against his sleek titanium-alloy bodyplating. There was no sense of moisture hitting his body. Nothing like you'd expect with the feeling drizzle on skin. Only a bland internal readout telling the _uploader_ that the air temperature was seventeen degrees, with a north-westerly wind. The screech of another plane taking-off behind started James as he turned to survey to bleak airport.

There was one thing for sure - the miraculous world of virtual reality rarely looked as bleak as this. Jersey airport in the rain was a stark reminder of what HORIZON sugar-coated.

Jean waved him towards a waiting Tesla. James trotted over to squeeze his frame into the four-by-four as gull wing doors closed crisply behind. What followed was a tedious car journey down the A2 to St Helier. Jean caught the _uploader_ staring, James faking a longing look through the window opposite. Given the fixed expressionless robot he was inhabiting, it was unclear how much emotion came through the black faceplate. Fifteen minutes later and the car was stopped before barriers on the edge of a rather mundane industrial estate. Armed security checked the drivers credentials before they slipped through to park before a GOKIA building. Jean's wary glance as he stepped out of the car suggested such checks weren't usually routine.

Rain bounced off the taxi bonnet.

Yana was waiting for them under the shelter of the lobby entrance. A gravel path led up a bold glass exterior which would have been in fashion thirty years ago. The half-Czech programmer looked smaller than James imagined her. Then again, striding over as a six-foot robot made everything look a little smaller than he was used to. The computer programmer had her arms crossed, muddied purple Dr Martens sticking out under loose jeans. Ginger hair framed a tired face and hung loosely over a maroon jumper.

The LEONOV maneuvered smoothly over the gravel, giving James a cat-like stance which had been anthropomorphised in the polished titanium of the robot. Jean sauntered beside him.

'Hi James.' Yana spoke tiredly. He waved back awkwardly, the over-sized paws of the LEONOV waggling.

'Uh...Hi.' James's electronic voice weakly mimicked his own. All the intonations of his voice were somehow conserved, though they seemed shallow in comparison to the real thing. Well, not that he'd heard his real-_real_ voice for some time.

'Where's Harry?' Yana snapped, apparently unconcerned with the highly-advanced EVA construction robot in front of her. 'Didn't he...'

Jean didn't exactly interrupt Yana, but his delicate signing made her trail-off as she interpreted the motions. Whatever she made of the explained situation wasn't exactly clear. After a short grumble, the female programmer shrugged and waved them inside. James tried to avoid eye-contact with security staring at him entering the lobby. At least he no longer had the capacity to sweat.

Yana lead them across a foyer decorated with beige carpet to a row of lifts. 'Do you want to go down and check over the...the…' she broke out into a huge sneeze. Wiping at her nose, the short programmer turned to Jean in an attempt to finish her sentence,

'Check over my logged patches. I've got a fix.' Any excitement that would normally have been in her voice was superimposed by a bone-weary tiredness and a heavy cold. Her announcement that she'd fixed whatever had caused the crash was disfigured by yet another sneeze. 'Wanna see?'

Jean nodded and practically shot off. He barely had time to wave a quick farewell as he caught a down-going elevator. The Frenchman had never bothered to hide his distaste for being dragged on the trip. Now there was nothing to hold him away from his precious computers. Yana smiled briefly at the site, pausing at the lifts before pressing a button to go up.

'Well...You glad to be back?' Yana asked, filling the silence of the wait. A handkerchief appeared from nowhere to cover a snuffle. James, embarrassed that he was staring, turned his lenses to scan the rest of the lobby. He wished he hadn't, given that nearly everyone was not-so-subtly watching the two of them.

'Back..._up top _you mean?' he had to ask for further clarification.

'Yep.' Yana shrugged, the elevator pinged, and they stepped inside. For a brief moment James was worried that he might be too heavy for the lift, before remembering his new body was designed to be flown into space. The LEONOV mark-nine weighed little as seventy kilograms. That didn't mean he didn't have to fit his gangly body inside.

'You've adapted to the LEO quickly.' The programmer commented dryly as James banged his feline metal head against the ceiling panel for the fourth time.

'Couldn't you have fixed the integration on this or something?' The _uploader _mumbled, 'Feels like I walking around in the shell of some weird cat-tank thingy.'

'Blame your brother.' Yana chuckled, the elevator cable buzzing as they started upwards, 'The movement dataset and immersion software was modeled around him.'

'He's been helping?'

'Yep.' Yana nodded, sneezed, then ducked out of the elevator when it pinged at their floor. The doors almost closed twice on James's metal feet before he managed to back out of the compartment.

'Willingly?' James reiterated. He had to physically tug his tail away from the lift as the door closed.

'He's enthusiastic.' Yana didn't wait up. She turned, pushing a mess of ginger curls out of her eyes before marching down one of the corridors. James fell in behind, still trying to question the programmer more about his sibling.

'Where is he anyways?' The _uploader_ was starting to become frustrated with the woman. 'And how am I even supposed to help like this? I thought...I…'

In truth, James didn't know what he was thinking. Hearing that his brother had been somehow brainwashed by the _bottling _following the HORIZON crash was alarming. However, what truly frightened James was that nobody knew why. Baba had neatly informed him that the up-link Richard used to _immerse_ into the Pokemon world worked in two directions. Whatever bug had caused the HORIZON glitch had overwritten his brother's mind with the characteristics of the Liepard he virtually played.

Yana didn't comment.

Given that the whole operation had been top secret and most likely illegal to start with, James had supposed that Harry Eisenhower had yet to seek professional medical treatment. When Yana pushed open an office door into a darkened staff room, the _uploader_ found just how true the prediction was.

Small soft-backed chairs dotted the room alongside a couple of wooden tables. An empty coffee dispenser looked like it hadn't been used in weeks. Blinds had been pulled down to cover floor-to-ceiling windows opposite.

A loud hiss came from inside.

James had to did a double take. Partly because his vision shifted into a thermal imaging to locate the source of the sound. Yana switched the light on. Something scrambled, a chair toppled over, and there was a high pitched cry following the impact. Mumbling something under her breath, the programmer tried to push James inside the cramped space.

'Talk to him. See if it heEECHEW…' she sneezed loudly, rubbing at her nose. 'Any problems. Call.'

'Wait-!'

The door slammed shut.

Wow? _Why was she being so rude?_ James wondered if everybody was different outside of HORIZON. Perhaps it was yet another aspect of the simulation sugar-coating reality to make it easier for the _uploader_. The thought was sickening. James sighed, rubbing his palm across his face only to have a large paw bounce off his slender feline head awkwardly. Great. Now he couldn't even face-palm when to wanted to.

'_**Lie…pard?**_' A small voice called from across the room. Before James could respond there was a hiss. '_**Pppppppard…**_'

'Richard?' James called out, falling onto his front paws without meaning to. The robotic body of the LEONOV seemed much happier in the quadrupedal position, tail rising high in the air as he toed across the room.

'Rich?'

His older brother eyed him from his position curled-up under a chair. Richard looked rough, stumble covering hollowed cheeks framing his wild eyes. Of all things, the young man was wearing a purple fleece that seemed two sizes too big, faded green shorts fraying at the knees. Richard tilted his head in a hauntingly animalistic fashion as he studied the robotic beast before him.

'_**Lie?**_' The man asked. Such a squeaky, mewing sound seemed wrong coming out of his older brother's mouth. '_**Liepard?**_'

'It's me, Rich. Your brother. James.'

Even to his own microphones, the LEONOV's mechanical voice was a weak representation of anything soothing. However, upon hearing his brothers name, Ricard's eyes dilated wide. He nosed forward from his rather painful-looking position curled up under the chair.

'_**Liiiiieparrrrd~?**_'

If it was possible to cry, James would have been doing so. Instead, emotion was limited to strange expressions through his oddly robotic body, tail drooping and shoulders falling in a clear sign of anguish. Why did something like this have to happen to Richard of all people? Sure, James had hoped that he might change...but for the better! Not into a Pokemon! It was heartbreaking to see the result of the _bottling_ knowing that somehow, it was all his fault. Richard had attempted to make up for his troublesome past only to be damned to this strange existence for trying.

'Surely they had known something like this might happen?'

James didn't mean to say the angry thought out-loud. For some reason, the LEONOV thought-recognition software was picking up the internal thoughts. 'What can I even do…?' James mumbled sadly, 'I'm dead. You're brainwashed...and...and…'

He couldn't even find the words to describe how ridiculous everything had steadily become.

'_**Lie?**_'

'Yeah. I know right? Look at the two of us. At least you have nine lives now. Beats my meagre two. You always did want a pet cat...'

Richard seemed to contemplate that information for a while. He wrinkled his nose in thought, eyes flicking from the floor and the strange hybridised robot in front of him. Perhaps it was the feline character of the robot that made the body language of the LEONOV foreign yet understandable to the young man. Or perhaps it was the mention of his forgotten brother that stirred some deep memories inside. The _bottling_ couldn't have removed everything surely?

The young man leant forward, sniffing at the air before the robot. Uncurling, he stretched out and waited before the LEONOV. A hand hung in the air like a paw, poised to strike in a wary fashion.

'_Remember_ Richard. You're not Bagheera anymore.'

Almost instantly Richard's eyes widened, head dropping to the side as he stomped both his hands on the ground. In the blink of a camera shutter the mannerisms of the man had shifted from wary feline to playful puppy.

'Okayyy…' James, who until this point had been poised on all fours, dropped back into a seated position. His tail weaved in the air as he chewed over the unexpected reaction from his brother. '_Bagheera_?'

The man who was once Richard nodded sharply. He lifted a hand, hovered for a moment, before booping James on the edge of his elongated head. The LEONOV flinched back in surprise. Was...was Richard trying to play with him? His brother's butt waggled as he tried the same motion again, purple fleece hanging around his sleeves.

'You know, I'm still not entirely convinced you're not just messing with me. Remember that? When you used to pretend you were dead just to make me run crying to mum and dad. I was only six! Hmm...How do I know you're not just pretending to be a Liepard?'

Richard stared back blanky. It was as if he was now listening intently but completely unaware of what James was saying. For all intents and purposes, his brother's situation was like having feline software bound to human hardware.

'Richard?' James tried again, getting no response, before testing. 'Bagheera…?'

The man perked up instantly, hands patting against the ground as his human body failed to accommodate the seated position of a Liepard without discomfort.

'So you think you're a Pokmeon now huh?'

Richard blinked.

'Right...how's this supposed to work. Uhhhg!' If James had any hair to pull out, he'd have been shredding his scalp. Instead, the _uploader_ resorted to clutching his mechanical feline tail between his paws and mumbling profanities under his breath. When volunteering to help he was expecting something along the lines of moral support or...or anything that didn't involve being left with his deranged brother and no idea of where to even start.

Richard waited patiently for his brother to overcome yet another existential crises. The dim lighting and the cramped confinements of the small staff-room didn't help. Especially the beige colour-scheme which needed a rather prompt-modernisation to fix.

For a while James repeatedly tried different things to awake the brother he once knew. The young man seemed unbothered by the chatter, but pleased with the company in the dark staff-room. James rambled on about almost everything he could remember about his rough childhood, and more besides. Now and then his voice cracked and stopped completely, emotion destroying the thought-recognition software as he mourned the life he used to have. Static crackled through his speakers. It failed to portray anything of the heartbreak inside. For a long few hours James simply sat in silence, wondering why all of this had happened in the first place.

'Well. We're together again...though I guess it's me visiting you than the other way around.

He sighed. It wasn't the same when you lacked lungs.

'At least you're…' The electronic voice of the LEONOV trailed off, a light-bulb moment illuminating the circuitry inside his head. Or he imagined it was there where a brain would normally be.

James eyed the man before him curiously.

'Bagheera! Uh...speak?'

'_**Lie!**_' The man once known as Richard responded almost instantly. He perched, watching the LEONOV patiently for any form of positive response.

'English maybe?' James suggested drly, sad that the emotion couldn't be played across the fixed faceplate of the LEONOV.

Richard tilted his head, eyes to the floor as he mumbled something under his breath.

'_**Engleesssh?**_' He tried delicately, rolling the word around his mouth as if trying to identify its taste. '_**Eeenglish?**_'

'Yes! Yes!' James congratulated. The praise only seemed to excite his older brother who began to bound on his hands, 'That's a great start! How about you reply in English. Can you do that?'

There was a long pause.

Richard appeared to consider the fact. He continued to pull a face, wiggling his jaw side to side as if uncomfortable with how the words felt in his throat. However, there was a twinkle in his eyes that suggested this new found language wasn't entirely satisfactory. There was still some knowledge of humanity buried somewhere, Jame's just had to recover it.

'_**Yessss.**_' The reply was matter of fact.

'Great. So why-'

The door swung open with such force that the hinges squealed. Bright white lights from the corridor suddenly bathed the darkened room. James froze, lenses automatically adjusting for the changing light levels. Richard, if he could still be called that, hissed loudly and jumped back in fright.

'James? RichardddchewWW-!?' Yana called, sneezing once more. Wiping at her red nose with a sleeve, she stepped inside and eyed the two with more tiredness than curiosity. 'Sorry. Something's wrong and I need to check. But you...uh, basically I'm looking after you? You'll have to come.'

It took a long time to acquaintance yourself with Yana's many quirks. Her favouritism of fewer words (or missing out entire phrases all together) was something that James struggled to understand. It was as if the genius computer programmer thought quicker than she could speak, choosing to skip out on the latter when convenient. Her speech became a dance as any loss of context was conveyed in a strange mime with both her hands and feet. Yet given Yana's illness, this was rather subdued.

'Go where?' The LEONOV responded, startling James at just how quickly his thoughts were translated into speech. Having the robot effectively reading his mind was unsettling. Given his present frustration with the programmer, James tried to blank some opinions he definitely didn't want to voice.

'Harry's house.' Yana replied bluntly, 'Quick quick. I'll drive.'

'I thought Harry's still in-'

'You coming or not?'

'Not without Richard.' If James could physically jut out anything resembling a chin, he would have. He was limited by the LEONOV to placing large paws on what could have been hips, focusing his lenses on the programmer.

For a few moments Yana returned the stare. However, four days with five hours sleep meant she was unable to even try to compete.

'Fine. Now.'

They all squeezed into Yana's small Toyota five minutes later. Within twenty minutes, they'd screeched to a stop at Pinvale crescent. James sat in the back seats with his knees against the front seat and Richard sprawled across his lap. It was good that they didn't crash, given that neither was wearing seatbelts. Such an outcome was a genuine possibility. Yana was often tipping seventy miles and hour hurtling down country lanes.

When they finally parked in front of a sleek scandinavian-inspired bungalow, James had to retract his paws from the warped door handle. Yana didn't even bother to open the door for him, sliding out and hot-footing it past a privet hedge up to the house.

For a moment James simply sat in the back and watched the afternoon autumn sunlight streaming across the quiet cul-de-sac.

'Well…I can't let curiosity get the better of me.'

A blackbird called in a tree outside. A real songbird, not a computer generated graphic to mimic the real thing. A fly battered against the window to reach real air outside. Being inside the LEONOV had left James feeling padded once more inside a mimic of reality. But now he focused on it all, it was difficult to miss the beautiful imperfections of reality. Although inside a robot he was seeing reality for what it really was. A woman out jogging passed the side of the car, too focused on her run to see the six-foot robot in the back.

'Hmm…'

A postman drove past the end of the road, window open despite the drizzle and the radio blaring.

For some strange reason, an aching where James's gut should have been suggested he was missing something important just sat in the car like this.

The door popped open and within a few seconds, James was striding towards the garden gate with Richard held fireman-style in his robotic arms. The LEONOV was still struggling to stay upright to sustain the continued bipedal gait. An oddly feline tail wavered in the air to maintain balance. Bouncing up and down, James's brother wiggled in strange grip.

'I bet you'd never imagined this would be happened ten years ago.' Once more, the _uploaders_ internal dialogue was portrayed through the medium of his electronic voice. 'Stupid thing'

'_**Liiie~?**_'

'No not you.' James continued to mutter, trying to think blank thoughts. Such a task was made hauntingly difficult by a loud beeping emanating across the garden. It was so consistent in character that James wondered whether it was a mechanical fault with the LEONOV. However, Richard tensing in his arms suggested that the sound was indeed coming from outside. Stepping up the garden path, it became apparent that the blaring alarm was in fact from the bungalow itself. A loud ringing was matched by yellow spotlights which failed to do much in the afternoon drizzle.

James didn't stop to inspect the property with its sweeping glass and wood exterior. It was obvious that something was wrong when he reached the front door. The latter wasn't simply open, but was busted off the hinges. Alarms rang from inside.

'What the…?'

The _uploader_ almost forgot he had his brother in his arms, squeezing through the door. Something inside the LEONOV naturally dampened the burglar alarm to a faint hiss, leaving James to naturally pick out the other sounds in the house. Yana could be heard breathing heavily from what looked like a kitchen space.

Richard rolled over, scrambling to pull out of the robotic paws constricting him.

'Whoa...Richard!?' James spluttered, almost dropping his brother. The huge strength and dexterity of the LEONOV helped set the _bottled_ _immerser _back on his feet, though he slipped onto his hands and knees anyway. It was clear that Richard knew the layout of the house. He sniffed the air a few times before bounding down the corridor and upstairs. Floorboards creaked under his frantic scrambling.

Yana made a sputtering sound, 'Who's there!?'

'It's us.' James stuck his mechanical head on the door to find Yana stood on a chair fumbling inside a high cupboard. She wobbled, turning to look at the LEONOV across the small open-plan kitchen area.

'Harry got alerted. Somebodies...some…' Yana yelled over the alarm. She was obviously struggling to grind the spinning thoughts in her head into words. 'I don't understand!' The programmer ducked out of a cupboard. A second later and the intruder alarm stopped. The silence that was left behind was just as deafening as the blaring call. Yana didn't even seem to notice. With tear-filled eyes she surveyed the space, clearly looking for something. Running shaking hands across her cheeks, she puffed out a breath.

'That's better.'

'Have the police-?'

'Yes yes!' The programmer snapped, shooting James a dark look. The LEONOV filled the doorway as he squeezed inside. A large section of paint was rasped off as his tail followed behind, whipping around as James did circles of the apartment.

'There's...there's nothing left!'

'Huh? Oh uh…He doesn't have much stuff.'

James did a double take, once more regarding the spartan interior.

'Soooo he hasn't been robbed?'

'Nope.' Yana scanned a table, under a table, before moving across to the kitchen sink. 'Here!' She snatched a photo from the windowsill. Without even meaning to, the lenses of James's robotic body zoomed in on the carefully held frame. It showed a much younger-looking Harry happily smiling next to another figure.

'What! He's got a photo of...of Baba?'

'Long story.' There was no mirth to Yana's sigh, 'Yeah. Let's get...who's that!?' She spooked, whipping her head round to the doorway. 'Who's there!?'

The programmer was startled by a small 'Hello?' called from the front door. The voice was definitely female and with a strong northern accent. Or was it Scottish? James was absorbed by the developing drama and didn't even wait for instructions. He padded across the kitchen, metallic paws clicking against the tiles before poking his head around the door.

A teenager waited in the doorway, eyes shifting uncomfortably as she observed the interior of the small bungalow. It was clear she hadn't seen the smooth feline head of the LEONOV when she called again.

'Hello? Any-?'

Upon spotting James squeezing out into the corridor, the teenager had to do a double take. For a second the combination of an empty burgled house and a giant cat-robot waiting inside failed to compute. Her jaw dropped open.

James tried to think up something reassuring. To a passer-by, it might look very suspect to have a giant robot inside a raided home. Yana beat him to it however. The programmer had popped out behind the LEONOV, eyes narrowing on the new figure.

'Who are you? The police **have **been called.'

'Wait...Yana?' The teenager's eyes widened, 'That's right, _right_?' She tugged at a loose zipped-up hoodie and brushed a strand of fair hair from her eyes. Yana's eyes narrowed further. She took a step forward. On any other figure it might have been menacing. For the petite half-Czech programmer, it would have been a humorous gesture. At least, if you disregarded the sleek black six foot robot standing at her side.

Neither James nor Yana expected what the teenager said next. Nor did Richard for that matter, who was sliding down the stairs on his stomach to listen in on the strange human conversation with interest.

'I'm Eva...Baba sent me.'

There was a long pause.

'_Riiiight_…?' Yana dragged out the word, clearly not sold on the claim. 'Why?'

'She said you needed help.'

'And why would we need _your _help...uh, specifically?' The programmer bumbled, struggling to hold her failed attempt at a menacing facade.

'Because it's not the first time. I'm...uh, I'm Rikola. You know? From VR?'

There was a very long pause. Yana was still trying to remember who exactly Rikola was and why that name sounded familiar. For Richard, that name awoke another strange memory inside. His head twisted to the side as he inspected the female human with renewed interest. James however...James's heart stopped for a few moments. Or it would have done. The LEONOV froze, unable to comprehend the rush of emotions running through its user's mind-space.

'Ok, I need a moment to get my head around this…' the electronic voice of the LEONOV stuttered.

'You can talk?' Eva, or was it Rikola, piped back.

James nodded weakly.

'Well...I guess the squad is back together.'

'Uh…' The Scott was starting to get weirded out, wondering if she was in the right place. The instructions had said to meet Harry Eisenhower at his house in Pinvale. Baba didn't say anything about intruder alarms, Yana, and a bizarre robotic beast waiting behind a broken front door.

'It's me...James.' The _uploader_ offered a metal paw. Eva stared at it for some time.

'You can't be serious? But you're...you're...'

'Dead?' James prompted,

Eva shook her from side to side, pointing at the young man behind still sliding down the stairs on his belly.

'Oh. uh…' The _uploader_ struggled for words.

'You don't want to know.' Yana mumbled before shooing all three of them out the door, 'Best not be here when the police arrive.'

* * *

END

* * *

Well, this is the first chapter in a while that has come out on time! Things are starting to tie together now and the final chapters are planned out ready to write. There were no major jargon issues in this chapter that I spotted. The Weald-Artois anticline is a large fold (geological) structure that crosses the English Channel, seen in Jurassic limestones on the french mainland. The described characteristics of the LEONOV robot for James and Richard differ based upon one being _immersed_ and the other _uploaded_ into the computer system. There'll be more about that next chapter.

Once again, thanks for reading as always. This story has now topped over six-thousand views and has fast become my most popular story thus far, so thanks for your appreciation! Also a shout-out to BIOHAZARD 04 for the review. Last but by no means least, thanks to R'love for helping to Beta this chapter. The next installation should be out in a fortnight. Enjoy!


	15. Chapter 14

[CHAPTER 1110]

* * *

"_...__maybe sort of think about rationing some of it_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how he'd ended-up in the questioning room of the Britannica Amsterdam head office. As one of the most powerful people in the newly formed state, he'd been expecting a relaxed reception room with tea and biscuits. Instead, a bright LED bulb illuminated a narrow table and steel chair opposite. It was fairly oppressive pill-box of a room.

Although he'd been explicitly told he wasn't under arrest, it only felt like a matter of time.

Harry Eisenhower, the chairman of GOKIA, rubbed at a stain on his scruffy suit to pass the time. Whilst the room lacked character, it made up for it with insipid white lime walls. Harry had been so busy counting the grease stains that he almost missed a young woman slipping in through the door. However, a glance was all that Harry needed. He'd become so good at judging people on their first appearances that it almost felt like a game.

The woman, barely half his age, was the physical embodiment of mundane. She was dressed in Britannica-branded uniform. A bright plastic badge announced that she was a domestic security servicewoman, though that could have meant anything. She had her hair pinned back neatly, revealing a face fit for the radio. With a deliberate slowness, the woman took a seat opposite in a manner which seeped relaxed professionalism.

Harry sniffed, adjusting his large bulk in a chair. The frame was precariously too small for the businessman's weight. It was likely one of those interrogation tactics to make him feel small. For Harry however, it only worked to prove the opposite. Morning jogs were doing little to cut the flab adorning his rotund stomach. It was embarrassing.

She set down a tablet-sized soft screen on the table.

'Harry Eisenhower.' The servicewoman's accent was faintly Irish, with a hint of what might have been Dutch. Brushing off a blue jacket, she reached out with a tanned hand. Harry grabbed it without hesitation and shook gently. 'My name is Nina Murphy. Thanks for coming in at such short notice.'

'Eh.' Harry shrugged, 'I'm on a tight schedule.'

If Nina recognised the light jab at the businessman's detainment, she chose to ignore it.

The room, more like a plasterboard cube, struggled to fit the two of them comfortably. A shaded light bulb dangled from the ceiling, giving the impression of a cell. Harry didn't think it was very welcoming. The air was stuffy, hot, and smelt of furniture wax.

Unlike Harry, who was already dabbing at moisture across his double-chin, Nina seemed unbothered by the humidity. The woman's actions were robotic as turned on a softscreen, releasing a light sigh. Each movement was purposeful but so slow that is frustrated the large man. Nina cleared her throat, ensuring she made eye contact with the chubby man opposite before speaking.

'I work for Britannica domestic security service. I will be asking a few questions on the nature of your company GOKIA. This discussion will be recorded and saved in case the information is needed for any further investigations.'

'I see…' Harry stared back flatly, 'Couldn't they have arranged a meeting at a more convenient time with somebody a bit more... reputable? I don't have time to waste regarding minor investigations.'

Nina waited for the man to finish. She didn't even blink.

'Can you confirm that your company GOKIA as present, has shut down their HORIZON platform service, stopping access by a-'

'Yes.' The balding man snapped. He rubbed at his chin with the back of his hand, 'Next question.'

'If you continue to act in that aggressive manner Mr Eisenhower things will take longer.'

'Ugh. Fine.' Harry leant back in his chair, crossed his arms, and pouted like a young child.

Nina took a long pause, pushing Harry's patience by adjusting her hair and checking her reflection in the softscreen reflection. She was by no means a pretty woman, but held herself with an easy confidence that was more becoming than looks. Taking a moment to settle herself in her chair, a quick glance down to the softscreen on the table provided Nine with the next question.

'Can you explain what involvement you had with the creation of exDEV?'

Harry puffed out a sigh. _So...that's what this was all about_.

For the next twenty minutes a monotone Nine fired question after question at Eisenhower regarding everything he could splutter about the founding of GOKIA. The businessman didn't have time to decipher the underlying theme of the questions, given that they were being fired so quickly. He slouched in the tight chair. Queries from the monotone investigator switched between his knowledge of artificial intelligence, exDEV's awakening, and his favourite Beatles tune. Harry gave each reply as vaguely as he could. If his answers were frustrating the servicewoman, it didn't show. Nina spoke as if reading off a script.

'Given that GOKIA is sanctioned by Britannica, can you verify that the HORIZON crash was not intentional. Can you confirm the crash is not a premeditated attempt to destabilise the state?'

Harry gaped at the woman before the lines of his face began to harden.

'Fuck no! You think I'd do that on _purpose_...?'

'Please stay civil Mr Eisenhower.' Nine replied blandly.

'You're supposed to be asking questions, not criticising how I run my business. GOKIA pretty much keeps Britannica afloat. Do you realise how much income, infrastructure,and technology my company provides to this country?'

The outburst was not unexpected. Harry had been holding back a cold anger at what were steadily beginning to feel like accusations. Minute by minute, the relaxed questioning was turning into an inquiry that became more probing which every question. The buisnessman stared-out the servicewoman as if expecting some kind of response.

Nina sniffed but refused to take the bait, 'I am well aware of the importance of GOKIA to Britannica.' She tapped at the softscreen delicately with her tanned fingers, opening a document before turning it round to show Eisenhower. The man's eyes flicked between the offered and screen and Nina for a short moment. The chair was starting to push on his hips, and the heat of the room was making him sweat under the collar. In a deliberate display of casual disinterest, he leant forwards to study a graph displayed on the screen.

'Nice plot.' Harry mumbled, unable to keep the sardonic mockery out of his voice

'This figure shows Scandanvian electricity tariff prices plotted against user usage within HORIZON in April...' Nina took a moment to flick the screen to show, revealing another figure. 'And here we have the same dataset collected during the initial days of exDEV being awoken. Note the similarities.'

There was a pause.

'You're _seriously_ trying to tell me I'm attempting to do what exDEV did? Why would I crash HORIZON if you think my artificial intelligence system was trying to...take over the world. To be honest, that would give it away? Right? I mean...if that's what I wanted to do.'

'I am not accusing you of anything Mr Eisenhower.' There was no emotion to Nina's voice. 'Those involved with the internal security of Britannica are just ensuring that your system is safe. I note that your company GOKIA manages the only current AI in existence. Is that correct?'

'Only _legal_ AI in existence.' Harry emphasised. Nina went as far to raise an eyebrow.

'I see. Is that because you know of other artificial intelligences, or because-' The woman took a moment to look at her softscreen, '-_Baba_ is the only UN-legal intelligence due to its...gravitas?

Harry shrugged but refused to comment.

'Given the crash of HORIZON,' Nina continued, 'We have data files which show a marked difference between the influence of the AI on global computer systems before and after it was functional. Assuming the crash disabled the AI? Perhaps you would like to see the data to provide some context to our discussion?'

Once more, the servicewoman rotated her tablet and slid it towards Harry.

This time, the businessman picked up the softscreen and cupped it in his rounded fingers. With one hand he flicked through the figures. Harry's brow furrowed as he worked his way through different data sets looking at international trade micro-transactions, the coin exchange, online shopping stats, and everything else neatly confined to twin-axis plots. The GOKIA chairman began to hum to himself in thought. He lost track of time studying each figure in turn. For Nina sat opposite, it was the only indication in the last ten minutes that Harry was really inspecting the data.

'So?' She promoted.

Harry took one last look at a graph as if trying to commit it to memory. Only then did he hand back the soft tablet and relax back into the tight chair. 'Could be anything.' He shrugged. Sweat pooled on the back of his neck. If Nina was paying closer attention to the businessman, she might have noticed the faint look of uncertainty in his eyes.

'I would like some more thoughts, if you would.'

Harry pretended he hadn't heard the request.

'Mr Eisnehower?' Nina repeated.

'Oh...sorry. Was just thinking. Actually, I have a right to a phonecall...don't I? Or is that only in films?'

'You are not under arrest.' Nina replied blandly. However, there was an edge to her voice which suggested she wished it was otherwise. Harry couldn't hide a boyish smirk from crossing his face at his outright disobedience.

'Cool. I'm just going to make a call.' He pulled himself to his feet a little unsteadily before Nina even had a chance to protest, 'Uh...where's the best place to get reception? I'm on Orange if that helps?'

The security service woman foundered for words, taken aback at the rudeness portrayed by the middle-aged businessman. Harry paused at the door, testing the handle to see it was locked, before pushing it open. Nina just stared

'Be back in a moment.'

Nina watched him go, unsure of what procedure stated in such situations. Harry's behaviour was starting to appear odd. She dealt with enough criminals in her career to get a bad feeling about the man. The GOKIA chairman was clearly hiding something.

Harry hadn't gone far. He'd spotted a toilet sign at the end of the corridor and shuffled towards it. If anything, he just wanted an excuse to abandon the humid pill-box of a room. The Amsterdam Britannica offices were sleek and modern, though thankfully empty. Especially given it was around lunchtime. Either that or Harry just felt hungry again. He pulled his softscreen out of his pocket as soon as he'd shouldered his way into the bathroom.

Only once the businessman was certain all the stalls were empty did he take the farthest cubicle. Harry slid the bolt shut and immediately dialed the top contact on his phone app.

'You busy?' Harry started the conversation, loosening his tie from his rotund neck. 'I've got something-'

'Where are you?' Yana interrupted from across the airwaves. Her Czech accent came through quite strongly on the phone call. The signal was patchy, adding unnecessary static to the conversation. 'James arrived here without you! And Jean!'

There was a harsh edge to the statement that said more than words alone. Yana had a skill for adding as much meaning and interpretations to her concise speech in as few words as possible.

'I've been pulled in for some questions by the Britannica internal security guys. They seem suspicious about Baba following the crash. It's-'

'Baba is pure!' Yana snapped, interrupted Harry's hurried story.

'I know! But they showed me some data of some global markets and stuff following the crash. They're suggesting Baba might be having the same influence on the global technology network that exDEV had. It's ridiculous, but it might give us a lead on the crash itself. The security guys have found a trend...even if they're interpreting it wrong. I wish people would forget about the stupid machine.'

'Baba's not offline.' The computer programmer replied bluntly. 'HORIZON is down but Baba is still alive. Don't they understand that? Only access and some graphic servers are offline. Right?'

'Obviously not.' Harry mumbled. He was starting to regret sitting on the lid of a toilet in what felt like a very claustrophobic bathroom cubicle. The GOKIA chairman tugged off his tie and slung it over the door, loosening a few buttons of his shirt.

'Anyhow.' He continued, 'They showed me a few figures. You might wanna look up these up. They plotted traffic on HORIZON with some European electricity tariff prices…as well some coin stocks. You...you noting this down?' Harry asked, before proceeding to reel off everything he'd memorised from the data he'd just seen.

'Got it…' Yana hummed agreeable noises from the other side of the conversation. 'That might match what I've got.'

There was a long pause as Harry waited for the programmer to explain.

'Go on then. You said you've got something?' He promoted, struggling to keep the frustration of of his voice. The man itched at his balding head and wiggled on the toilet seat. It was hot and unpleasant, but at least the stall was vaguely clean.

'The crash reports suggest it's related to Richard uploading. You see similar spikes in activity whenever he was in HORIZON. It'sssaaAAACHEEWW.' Harry yanked the softscreen away from his ear as the sneeze nearly popped an eardrum.

'Sorry.' Yana snuffled, 'Cold. But yeah. It's like HORIZON booted Richard, triggering the bottling…but as a response to some external driver. There's added stress on the HORIZON system as if from web traffic, but only when Richard is on. And it's not users.'

'It's external?' Harry clarified, trying to make sense of Yana's rapid chatter.

'Yes yes. But not users. System responses from the different hosted platforms. Automated queries but with large placeholders. Different each time...as if trying something new to overload the system? Maybe?'

'Wait...So this is malicious? Hosted systems are trying to overload HORIZON?' The GOKIA chairman rubbed at his face with a small groan.

Yana paused, obviously thinking through the suggestion in some depth.

'Maybe. But something...somebody did it. Each attempt to crash the HORIZON platform was triggered externally, and only when Richard was online.' Was all the programmer could confirm. Another bout of static reminded Harry that calling from the inside of a bathroom wasn't the best idea for signal coverage. His thoughts were spinning however, as the businessman tried to consider the motivations for taking down the global virtual reality system. Somebody had not only tried, but succeeded? GOKIA not only basically kept the Britannica economy afloat, but was a major player in the global games industry. Harry Eisenhower wasn't aware that he'd made any enemies.

'We could take this to court?' Yana suggested in the silence. 'Somebody has done this on purpose...and has been trying for some time.'

'Yeah. But we don't know who did it! _And_ we need some sort of mechanism for how they did it? By the looks of things, the Britannica government are looking at the same thing...and starting to suspect me.'

'Uh, maybe it is you...?'

Harry ignored Yana's comment, assuming it was an attempt to make light of the situation.

'Yana. You know what caused it...?' The chairman confirmed, though he couldn't keep the slight hint of uncertainty out of his voice. Crashed like this didn't just happen. 'Have you thought about running diagnostics on Baba? Her activity hasn't been unusual? Why didn't she pick this up before it happened?'

Yana sniffed but didn't say anything. It was clear that whatever she wanted to say, she didn't want to do it over the phone. Yana was very protective over Baba and struggled to take any criticism against artificial intelligence.

'It's the damn system, I bet.' Harry mumbled to himself, bitter at the Yana's revelation. 'Australia's still running an antique computer system which could be corrupting it. The Americans think they control the damn global internet and could be acting all petty again. Argh! It could be anything!'

'The global computer network? You think that...Hmm maybe. I'll check.'

Harry waited for Yana to vocalise her musings further, but was only met with silence. He scratched at the stubble on his chin. You could tell they were getting desperate if he was starting to blame the global computer network for faults. It was a huge internet system which had been running seamlessly since it's redesign over forty years ago. Still, to get what was effectively traffic issue originating from computerised user-based traffic seemed ridiculous. _Computers didn't crash other computers like that_. Harry thought to himself. Somebody had to be programming the machines somewhere to have caused this.

The aging man slumped on the toilet seat, trying to work out how he got into his mess. It was only then that he remembered the whole point of this business trip. Not to mention how he'd ended up in the lavatory of the Britannica Amsterdam headquarters.

'And Richard? James? They've met? That's working out fine?'

The programmer hummed something which could have been agreement. The crackling connection made it hard to tell. Harry thought she was going to ignore that question too. He was already tugging at the wrinkles in his trousers, using the lull in the conversation to gather his thoughts.

'Yes. I don't think...no. It might help.' She paused, 'And you sure trying James in uh...what I...this wasn't just another plan? Another test? Prove what you wanted from the start.'

'No...'

Harry trailed off. He didn't want to outright lie to the his lifelong friend. Nor did he want to shuffle around the truth. His motives weren't nearly as black and white as that. Harry Eisenhower was the type of person that schemed a hundred possible outcomes to a single situation. His professional career had been built on numerous back-up plans and wildcards chasing down a goal only he could fathom. Yana had been there from the start. However, Harry still struggled to admit the reality of the situation to the programmer.

'I wanted them to be together. That might not have been the only reason, but it was the main one. HORIZON was made to bring people together...it's...yeah.' Harry rubbed at his eyes. 'But still...You mind looking into that data? Might help you find what's actually triggered the crash...or who.'

'I'll do that.' Yana agreed. Her accent seemed to come across more strongly on the phone.

The rest of the conversation was mostly small-talk regarding GOKIA and Jean checking the half-Czech woman's data. It was only after a few awkward moments of silence that Harry noticed the time. He cut the conversation to a close with a wince, knowing he couldn't push his luck too much with the stuck-up service woman. He thumbed his softscreen to power-down, pocketed the device, and rubbed the sores from his backside.

Harry washed his face in the sink before leaving. For a long moment he stared at his ashen face with it's rough stubble. Seriously? How did he end up in messes like this? Occam's razor hinted that computers crashing other computers might be unlikely, but still a possibility. Assuming no extremist billionaire in China was trying to shut down the western internet system.

When Harry finally exited the toilet over half an hour later, he found a number of smartly dressed Britannica police waiting for him. Three guys as big as Harry (although with muscle rather than fat) lingered in a nonthreatening manner, but blocking his escape routes nonetheless. Nina waited besides them patiently. She paused for a few moments, not looking up from her personal tablet until the last moment.

'Is everything OK?' Harry slipped his hands into his trouser pockets.

Nina had the audacity to smirk.

'Based on your unusual behaviour today Mr Eisenhower, and a tip-off involving some illegal activity regarding civilian use of GOKIA's LEONOV programme, you are being placed under arrest. If you would follow us back to the questioning room to resume our previous conversation.'

Harry's heart skipped a beat. The blood drained from his face as he looked around the well-dressed Britannica employees in turn. It only reminded him he'd left his favorite beige tie hanging in a toilet cubicle. There was no emotion to Nina's narrow face as she regarded the porky businessman stood before her.

'I think I'm entitled to a phone call.' Harry mumbled, feet refusing to move.

'I think you've had plenty of time to do that already Mr Eisenhower.' Nina went as far to look unimpressed. 'You have been gone for over forty minutes.'

'It was a huge shit.' Harry sighed, pulling his softscreen out of his pocket anyhow. He followed Nina slowly, dragged his feet to give him a few extra moments to tap out an SMS message. The GOKIA chairman was so focused on the texting that he almost walked into Nina when she opened the door of the questioning room. This time, two burly guards were ready in case he refused.

A few moments later and Nina settled down opposite. She set her soft screen down and cracked her fingers, continuing as if nothing had happened. Harry tried to keep his face devoid of the snide bitterness welling up in his stomach.

'Would you like another look at the data Mr Eisenhower? Or shall I explain the allegations made against you now?'

Harry crossed his arms across his chest.

'I have the right to remain silent'

'You do.' Nina agreed, looking up from her softscreen. The angles of her face weren't overly pleasant as she attempted what might have been a smile. 'But that won't help to prove your innocence in this matter.'

She pulled at the cuff of a sleeve.

'Perhaps you can start with your intentions behind the creation of the GOKIA artificial intelligence _Baba_?'

Harry snorted. That wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about. Not because he was hiding anything scandalous, more because of how personal his motives had been back then.

Nearly four-hundred kilometres away and Yana was having a similar thought. Not that things were overly personal, just that she didn't want to talk about the matter at hand. James was sat in the small office in the corner, his mechanical feline form dwarfing an old black wheely chair. In the bland electronic voice of the LEONOV-nine he was lecturing Eva in something that sounded faintly geological. However, it all sounded like gibberish to the programmer. Yana was fervently trying to block-out the distraction, even as she kept an eye on the sleeping form of Richard curled up on the LEONOV's lap.

'See, it's important! Biological life interacts with the non-biological earth to create one self-regulating system. It's like the Earth is alive somehow!'

James's voice would have normally been passionate about his favourite subject. However, his words came out a bit flat. Eva didn't mind too much. The young Scott lounged in a chair opposite, spinning it back and forth with a foot. In Yana's chilly office, Eva had the hood of a fluffy red hoodie covering her fair hair.

'So life controls the planet?'

'Regulates it.' James emphasized in response to Eva's bored response. The voice of the LEONOV crackled as he tilted his sleek faceplate to the side. The teenager opposite chuckled, looking up from her lap.

'You haven't changed you know? I thought you'd be less...nerdy in real life but obviously not.'

Yana refrained from commenting that the distinction between real and virtual reality was a bit fuzzy for the _uploader. _Returning to her computer screen and she realised that she'd been staring at the same block of text for the last ten minutes. The half-Czech woman knew she was tired...but she couldn't help but get distracted by the chatter. However, even geology was more exciting than tracking the coin exchange.

'What are you even talking about?' Yana lamented at last, slapping the lid of her laptop closed. James jumped at the sound, motors hissing faintly as he turned his neck to the noise. Even if it was impossible for the blank feline faceplate to look sheepish, James made it work anyhow.

'Uh...The Gaia Hypothesis.' He confirmed, 'It's the-'

'It's the rock-nerd explaining that the Earth is alive.' Eva responded tiredly. Yana noticed that the young woman had a softscreen hidden in the nook of her knee. Eva was tapping away at a messenger app on the screen. It was unlikely the Scott had been paying much attention to the conversation, only making the correct noises.

'The Earth's climate and biosphere is self-regulating.' James postulated, emphasising the grand statement with a flourish of his black metallic paws. The sleeping form of Richard in his oversized purple jumper restricted any further movement. 'Life stabilised geological processes to ensure climate conditions remain favourable.'

'The planet is aware of itself and keeps things fresh and funky.' Eva grinned, 'Pretty much?'

'Humph.' James crossed his arms. It was a strange position for the feline robot, giving it a strange anthropomorphic expression which was more creepy that pleasing.

Yana grunted, wishing she hadn't ask. She excused herself with the excuse she needed to get a drink. In truth, the programmer just wanted to stop the spinning mash of ideas in her head. Heading toward the break room for a glass of water, Yana couldn't help but think over what James had said. Her mind was like that, grasping each idea that stumbled into her path. She analysed each concept from every possible angle, like studying some strange creature under a desk lamp. The programmer hung next to the sink, pouring a glass of water and slouching against the sideboard.

_Seriously_, the types of things young people talked about these days. Gaia? The Earth becoming aware and somehow being able to self-sustain itself? The ideas seemed preposterous. This was the very reason Yana became a programmer. Computers were logical. They followed the exact instructions and it made perfect sense. She couldn't even imagine otherwise inorganic computer interacting to create a self-regulating environment like that. Computers helping computers? The internet running itself?

The programmer froze. Her glass tumbler almost slipped from her hands as a light bulb exploded to life in her head.

In fact, Yana _could_ imagine a global computer system doing just that. A self-regulating, synergistic internet network that behaved as a single entity. One that managed data usage and stopped threats like viruses. An organic system.

Yana was panting when she ran back into her office. Ignoring startled looks from James and Eva, not to mention Richard flailing and tumbling to the floor with a squeal, she hurried past. Yana burst through into the back door, ignoring the purple sharpie stating 'Do Not Enter' marked across the wood. Jean looking up in shock upon seeing the programmer stumble inside. Her petite body was oddly composed as she drew in a deep breath.

'Change the models Jean. Uh...model the whole computer system as a series of nodes. All of it. Massive.'

The Frenchman tared back blankly. Yana had a wild look in her eyes.

'We've been looking for a virus in the system. But maybe it's us. Maybe we're the virus?'

* * *

END

* * *

There hasn't been too much world-building in EOrRRoR recently, given the some dense material in earlier chapters. However, I did touch upon some interesting ideas in this update. Occam's Razor is a philosophical concept, or principle to help solve problems, which states that the simplest answers with the fewest assumptions is most likely to be true. The Gaia hypothesis was poorly explained by the character James, but is a real and very plausible theory created by James Lovelock; whereby living organisms interact with inorganic geological processes to ensure habitable conditions are perpetuated on Earth. There's lots of interpretations of this idea (including 'soft' and 'hard' hypotheses, with everything between) as well as some uncertainty at which point in time Earth's biosphere became geological important. And lastly, Orange is an old phone network which became EE. Otherwise nothing new has crept into the story.

As always, a huge thank you to the response this story is getting! Error has been great fun to write and it's great to know others are enjoying it! Things are starting to grow to a grand finale, so stay tuned! Thanks again to R'love to for some good ideas and helping to tidy the document. Updates will still come out Sunday mornings but may take up to three weeks. Enjoy!


	16. Chapter 15

[CHAPTER 1111]

* * *

"_...__looks like we just had our glitch for this mission_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

There was only a short announcement on GOKIA's various social-media sites when HORIZON finally returned back online. Within minutes, old users were frantically logging back into their differing realms of virtual realities. Platforms became accessible one-by-one. Most fans waited for their favourite game lobbies to open with fervent intensity. Some users weren't so pleased. Although it had only been five days since the unexpected crash, that was enough time to develop global uproar at the computing giant. HORIZON was used as a tool in education, to run major three-dimensional simulations for mining companies, hosting medical sites for treatment of PTSD, and even housed data analysis tools for economists. That wasn't even considering the every-day gamers that just wanted to play Pokemon in their time off. It was no wonder some people were upset following the crash.

To the team that had worked constantly to eliminate the potential bug, it had been a solid five days without sleep. GOKIA, whose market value had dropped over seven percent, couldn't let something similar happen again. The company was already under intense scrutiny by the Britannica government for the millions it was costing them a day.

The technology developed by GOKIA, not just HORIZON, was so ingrained into the new state that its economy was practically a function of GOKIA's own share prices. It had been an intense five days of political scuffles and infighting regarding a topic that had been blown out of proportion...especially when the United Nations got involved. The intergovernmental organization had called for a thorough investigation and black-listing.

It was the perfect storm to threaten GOKIA's monopoly over virtual reality.

For Baba, things were a bit different. The five days had been tortuous simply for the encroaching boredom they implied. HORIZON coming back online was like everybody returning back to school after a long holiday. The gaming platform that had once supported over a billion users started to trickle people back through the server once more. Streams of data entwined through the AI's programmed consciousness as elegantly as the electricity running through the circuitry of GOKIA's quantum computers. Baba relaxed into an ocean of user data like it was a warm bath.

Not that she could enjoy the return to normality. In truth, the artificial intelligence was looking forward to finally testing some intriguing hypotheses.

The earlier HORIZON crash never looked that serious from inside the simulation itself. Baba had done everything perfectly, instantly shutting down the whole virtual reality platform when a major glitch became apparent. It wasn't something she had prepared for. Protocols were only in place for dealing with similar incidents. However, the glitch wasn't entirely unexpected.

The typical HORIZON scripts that used placeholders for random Pokemon encounters had stopped working in the past. It commonly resulted in pixilated battles for players when HORIZON couldn't recover the correct information. The resulting _Glitch Pokémon_ had gained a small cult following. It was a worry that players were actively hunting out errors in the source code. Baba had labelled the bug _MissingNo _as reference to the error message it flagged, keeping a keen eye on its development.

The artificial intelligence didn't foresee that the same glitch could happen to real players. High server usage meant that Richard had been assigned an incorrect placeholder. It had resulted in a self-perpetuating error message as the graphic generation coding dropped from a nine-letter seed to an eight-letter scrambled algorithm. Baba blamed herself for what happened next. She'd been playing with the automatic user disconnect sequence to avoid _bottling_-out Richard when he was _immersed_. Her new programme hadn't been sufficiently integrated into HORIZON's systems, failing to operate when the gaming platform imploaded.

Well...that wasn't _entirely_ true. A connection request had gone through from an unknown user only moments before the crash. Or, more likely, a computerised system pretending to be a user.

Since HORIZON first went public, different bots had been poorly constructed to run fake NPCs typically acting to boost usage ratings for struggling platforms. Either that or run a sizable clone army of _adavs_. Baba recognised the non-humans with ease - isolating them and sending fake data reports back so the computer _thought_ that their weak hacks were working.

The AI hadn't expected anything more elaborate

Abusing the _MissingNo_ bug was just that. It involved a rather unassuming glitch initiated across multiple computer-generated accounts that was enough to disrupt HORIZON's graphics generation. In truth, an elegant non-localised solution to Baba's virus-protection. It was nearly impossible to spot within the _statrolls_ of half a billion users which ones stored the garbled seed data ready to disrupt any unassuming player. Now the artificial intelligence knew what to look for, she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

'You alright with me testing this?' Baba sent a direct message straight to Yana's personal account. Given the risk of crashing HORIZON again, the AI was uneasy about her theorised experiments. Five days gave plenty of time to contemplate and design a few more redundancy tests. Yana took a while to respond. The young half-Czech programmer was currently distracted playing minesweeper during her break.

'Yes.' A reply arrived a few minutes later, 'Make it unassuming. Isolate, if it works!'

Yana's words were a mere few bytes within a collection of trillions that Baba sifted through every millisecond. Her role wasn't to actually run HORIZON, which would have been boring as hell anyhow. She just had to manage and maintain it.

'Thanks. Running in seven-point-two seconds.' Baba responded back. Normally she'd run the conversation through a webcam and set up a mock stream of her human persona. Yana had rejected her earlier call however...most likely because the programmer had gone to work in her pajamas again.

The artificial intelligence had been instrumental in correctly coding the _immerser_ software. This, on top of the days Richard had clocked in VR, allowed her to mimic the young man's signal almost exactly. Baba cleverly tricked the internal HORIZON simulation to generate a synthetic replication of Richard on the Pokemon platform. She couldn't help but feel pity when the projected Liepard appeared.

A message from Yana popped up just as Baba prepared the necessary coding.

'DON'T CRASH HORIZON.'

Baba replied instantly with a stuck-out-tongue emoji before running the test.

User data spiked almost instantly. Within microseconds of simulating Richard's _immersion_ characteristics, NPC requests bombarded the platform. Already in the process of isolating the dialating code, Baba observed with fascination as _MissingNo_ alerts flooded in. Sure enough, placeholders were borrowed from the _statrolls_ of the fake accounts and a self-perpetuating graphics collapsed started. There was no time for celebration following the successful hypothesis. The artificial intelligence locked and purged the Richard simulation, ending the threat..

'It worked.' Baba pinged a compressed file of her findings (compiled in a meagre four seconds) to Yana along with a hastily written message;

'However, our idea with scrambling was incorrect. It rewrites the coding, based on user spikes stressing placeholders. An external computer system is creating the user traffic. See data file.'

'Looking.' Was all Yana responded with. In the ten minutes wait that followed, Baba had time to re-review the experiment over a hundred times. She was about ninety-eight percent certain that the strange coding blip was a malicious response to _immerser_ signals. Baba set up another two experiments, analysed the results, and worded conclusive findings before Yana finally responded.

'Is it malicious, or are we looking at a genuine bug?'

'I tested similar synthetic brain patterns which were both corrupted and overwritten immediately. It only works on _immerser _data patterns.'

'Like a virus?' Yana typed out quickly. Baba was delayed in responding when the Outer Wilds digital platform struggled to cope with a surge of users as it returned online. Phasing the return of different VR services was helping to minimise such traffic, but didn't alleviate the problem.

'In a biological sense, more like antibodies. External computer-generated users are triggering effectively a _MissingNo _glitch which self perpetuates, and is over-written by whatever placeholders these users have, stored as graphic data. The fake-account attack's are very specific, installing the malware from generated _statrolls_.'

The AI stewed over the test data, waiting for Yana to respond;

'This bug neutralises any indications of _immersion_. Human minds.'

The reply wasn't a question for the artificial intelligence, but in fact a statement. Similar to the AI herself, Yana had zoned-in on the trigger of the HORIZON glitch. The AI paused, taken-aback by her intuition. Baba never ceased to be amazed at just how fast the programmer could read, interpret, and solve problems like that. Yana worked through software issues with a natural ability faster than thought.

'Correct.' Baba responded in a heartbeat. 'Its targeting unusual activity within HORIZON, but seems to purposefully crash any evidence of _immersion_. I'm sending the data over now.'

'We're calling it **Gaia**.' Yana responded just as quickly. If Baba had eyebrows to raise, she would have raised them. The AI didn't get the reference precisely, but if Yana was willing to give the issue a cute name, it meant that the bizarre computer glitch was being considered seriously.

'I liked _MissingNo_.' Baba countered, 'Why **Gaia**?'

'Ask James. It's our global-computer-system-that-shuts-down-intelligence idea. Remember? If the government data is to believed, it's been in operation at least since it attacked exDEV.'

'exDEV was an AI.' Baba clarified to the programmer. Given that newly-named **Gaia **wasn't targeting her _nor_ James, that theory didn't make sense. Baba herself was a generation-evolution of the original artificial intelligence. Yet the **Gaia** glitch only seemed to target evidence of human _immersion_, not intelligence like herself. The evidence seemed contradictory.

'Thinking.' The programmer responded shortly. A couple of lines of text arrived a minute later. 'Will contact Harry and let him know. The team's going through your data now.'

'Send my regards.' The AI responded after a few seconds delay. Talking about the businessman suddenly reminded Baba of his predicament. 'I thought he was arrested?'

'Not for long...Harry can smooth-talk his way out of anything.'

'Noted.'

'Thanks for the tests. We'll double-check the results before you run more. Keep an eye on HORIZON. We can't afford for it to go down again. Got a meeting. Speak after.' Yana replied bluntly before signing off.

Baba felt the need to huff, awareness floating back to the problems to hand. Fragmenting herself to work on the **Gaia** side project was starting to become computationally taxing. With a small grumble, the artificial intelligence returned to her work maintaining HORIZON. Phase eight was expected in two hours returning everything to full availability. It was going to be busy ensuring the servers continued to run smoothly.

Time passed by more slowly in the real world. Or, at least it felt that way for Harry Eisenhower. He'd been restricted to the same drab Britannica apartment for the last three days with nobody but his lawyer for infrequent company. The small suite backed onto the Amsterdam Britannica government offices. An open window looked down upon a busy street, sirens from police cars and ambulances a stark reminder of the urban sprawl outside.

The businessman leant back in an old armchair, rubbing at his stubbled chin

'Your just going to have to bite the bullet and step down.'

'Fuck off.'

'That's their proposal.' Harry's lawyer showed his palms, far beyond exasperation at this point. The legal adviser was only a few years older than the GOKIA businessman, but expressed the years more gracefully with his preened demeanor. A formal black suit only exaggerated the complete contrast compared to the chubby man lazing opposite. Harry was sweating in the late summer heat, shirt undone at the collar and shoes kicked off across the carpet.

'Britannica doesn't want this going public. Nor is their proposal unreasonable. Given your companies huge impact on this state, it would make sense to place some of it under government regulation. You have to choose your battles.'

'I have.' Harry practically snarled. It wasn't aggression towards his lawyer, but disgruntlement. 'And I have consulted the top data analysts in my company! They ran an operations test only this morning. The shut-down of GOKIA services was as a result of a malicious cyber attack. This isn't my fault!'

'I understand.' The lawyer paced opposite. He felt uncomfortable getting too close to the large man, choosing to hover next to the window. Having spent the last three hours hotly discussing a new agreement being pushed by the Britannica government, the legal agent was itching to leave. He wasn't sure if the GOKIA chairman was being pig-headed, stupid, or was still in a state of denial about the whole situation. Harry had done little but talk over his hired adviser.

'However.' The aging lawyer tried another angle, 'You have to see this as an opportunity! Britannica are offering to progress aspects of your-'

'By bloody stealing half of my company! Yes, it offers financial stability and continued investment-'

'Not to mention having a UN-authorised establishment' The lawyer muttered under his breath.

'-but they don't have a vision! I don't get why they even _care_ about controlling HORIZON. It's a success because it's an impartial, independent business.' Harry banged a clenched fist on the side of his armchair. 'They don't like what I wanted to do with it anyhow. Hell, they voted in the UN for the _spectre_ scheme over my _uploaders_.'

The lawyer rubbed at his eyes, frustrated that Harry was starting to cool off. He'd been hoping that all the shouting might have attracted the attention of the two armed guards standing outside the door. Now the large man simply sprawled in his armchair. Harry had grown weary of the endless security regarding how he ran his business.

'GOKIA is a global company, you supply important digital infrastructure to half the world. Britannica, who already offer unique endorsements, want their fair share...and they also want more control. Just look at the LEONOV scheme! It's fringing on the edge of legal with the possibility of being weaponised. Talking straight, people don't trust machines anymore Mr. Eisenhower.'

'That's exactly the problem.' Harry sighed, blinking slowly. Scratching at the bald patch on his head, he steadied the void in his chest. The businessman couldn't remember the last time he felt this stressed. Actually he could, but he didn't want to think about that either.

'Well. That is all I can offer you today. The officials will want your answer by tomorrow morning. If you need me, drop me a call. I'll meet you tomorrow for the signing...' The Lawyer excused himself. When Harry waved him away, the advisor had to avoid grabbing his briefcase and legging it through the door. Not that Harry noticed the hasty shuffle. Eisenhower only managed to pull himself out of his thoughts a few minutes later. He'd sunk deeper into the armchair, the sounds and scents of the city outside washing over him like a humid storm.

'Shit.' He muttered to himself, and then louder, 'Shit.'

Normally, Eisenhower could think himself out of situations like this. He was the type of person who had a hundred plans for every possible outcome. Harry often debated between different plans of action for what to do next. But this time, there was nothing. For Harry, there was no alternative. Britannica had formally wrote the declaration within their formal documentation. Either he handed over leadership of his famed company, or they went public with their accusations and took control anyway.

'Shittity shitty shit shit.' Harry tried again, to no avail.

It felt like he had a weight pushing down on his chest. All of this...for nothing. He'd built GOKIA from scratch within the ashes of the sustainability crises as a stark reminder of the power which technology had to _help_ humankind. He'd pushed the frontiers of virtual reality at the same time as supporting a whole new independent state - even creating viable solutions for the expansion into space.

And what did he get in return? The Britannica government had pinned him during his moment of weakness. They'd shut down the the LEONOV scheme over poor usage, even going as far to raid his home to find blackmail material. The government was using all the scare tactics in the handbook to force a takeover outside of court. Worst of all was the fact they were working. Harry was already going stir crazy within the small apartment.

Something seemed off about the way Britannica were handling this.

For a few hours he stewed over that thought. Harry had his fourth coffee of the day, sitting in the dark, when he found his way onto his smartscreen. The noise of traffic buzzed through the open window. A faint breeze sent a chill down the pudgy man's spine. He didn't know if he had goose pimples from the cold night air...or for the number on his screen. Harry stared at the digits, mouth dry.

He pushed the call button with a thumb and waited.

Dialing tones sounded through the drab apartment.

"_The person you are trying to call is currently unavailable. If you would like to leave a message, please speak after the tone."_

Harry had to physically restrain himself putting the phone down there and then.

'Hi there...Corey.' His tongue felt too big for his mouth, 'It's Harry. Yeah. In case you didn't guess. I...Uh...I know…'

He scratched at his chin.

'I hope you're keeping well and I...I'll cut to chase. The government wants to take over GOKIA and I don't want to drag you into this. Put something together which covers your back.'

Harry paused, staring into space.

'But you might want to look into issues in the global computer network. They're putting the blame on GOKIA for the crash, but we've spotted unusual activity from computer systems. It might be something left over from exDEV? Uh...Yeah…You might wanna check that out.'

'I'm...I…' He sagged, leaning against the wall as struggled to keep his voice even. 'I know how things are now. I just, uh…'

Harry hung on the edge of spilling everything. Explaining to Corey through the tears how all of this was for her. To show that he could do it all _without_ her. Creating GOKIA, the expansive technology empire now affecting billions, was just a distraction so he could forget. The pain of everything still clung to his soul. It was stubbornness that had got Harry this far. Only because he couldn't admit he was wrong.

'Look after yourself, alright? I owe you one. See ya.'

He couldn't hang up quick enough.

Harry wiped the moisture from his eyes. Even with the traffic wailing outside and the air conditioning whirring above, it was too quiet. Everything was so loud and oppressive whilst simultaneously not being stimulating enough. He turned on a lamp, illuminating the drab apartment for the prison it truly was. For a while Harry hung by the bedside telephone. It was all too tempting to order up pizza and binge the evening away. Maybe it was anxiety hurting his gut rather than hunger?

It was in the early hours of the morning, sprawled across his bed that Harry finally had an idea.

Britannica were blackmailing him everything they could get their hands on - anything to taint his reputation and break his resolve. The LEONOV scheme was perhaps a little dodgy. By now, the security services had most likely found evidence for other projects involving battery storage solutions, rad hardened space circuitry, and a new type of roomba. They'd raided his house for fuck's sake! The government wouldn't let the opportunity to take control pass them by. If Britannica wanted to go public and take him to court, why shouldn't they? Harry Eisenhower had given his life for his company and wouldn't back down easily. If the very country he had such high aspirations for wanted GOKIA, they'd have to fight him for it.

Resolute, Harry Eisenhower called up a pizza delivery. He couldn't work on an empty stomach.

* * *

END

* * *

Thanks to my overly optimistic idea of balancing a number of different stories at once, updates for Error have dropped to once every three-weeks. I'm expecting to write another twenty thousand words to tie everything together, which should end up as around five chapters. Updates will still be on Sunday mornings.

There wasn't much trivial in this chapter. The HORIZON crash is based on the generation one glitch-Pokémon MissingNo, which was hinted at in earlier chapters. This was an infamous glitch that could be caught at cinnabar island. Programming jargon was there for sci-fi reasons and not worthy of note.

As always, a huge thank you to everyone supporting this story! A warm welcoming to new followers and viewers, and Roasted-Potato for the review (world-building will sneak into later chapters). Thanks for reading! Enjoy!


	17. Chapter 16

[CHAPTER 10000]

* * *

"_...__it wasn't a miracle, we just decided to go_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

For a skybnb property, the small cottage wasn't half bad. It was situated on the east coast of Jersey, housing views over Mont Orgueil Castle and the English Channel beyond. With expenses covered by GOKIA, the three-bedroom lodge had the added luxury of a secluded position above Queen's Valley. A neat garden backed onto rolling pasture where cattle grazed happily. Even if a lone rambler did peak through the windows of the old stone cottage, it was unlikely they'd have believed what they saw.

'Hey! That's mine!' A six-foot feline robot yowled in displeasure. 'Give it back!'

James shook his sleek black head and rolled his mechanical shoulders before lunging again. Balanced on his their back feet, the LEONOV's sectioned tail spun round, bouncing off a sofa as James re-adjusted himself. His carbon-fibre exterior glimmered in the afternoon sunlight bursting through the patio doors. James's polished arms were specifically jointed for complete maneuverability in microgravity. However, the _uploader_ carried himself in a more human manner than his somewhat feline body was designed for. James practically bounced around the living room, dodging two sofas and a coffee table as he chased after Eva.

'How can you...Ugh!' Even with the added flexibility and speed of the LEONOV, the young Scott was still faster. Eva chortled, ducking a swipe before skidding to a stop by the doorway. Unlike the machine James was inhabiting, Eva panted as her muscles demanded oxygen.

'You can't even eat it!' The young woman heckled, hugging a bowl of popcorn close to her chest. A few of the popped kernels had already been trodden into the cream carpet from their chase. Eva hovered, feet apart ready and waiting to leap out of reach at any point. The fair Scott's frizzy hair framed her cheeky grin.

'What? Can't hack reality?'

'I wanted to share it with Richard…!' James grumbled. 'And you don't have lag like I do! I'm sure there's a bad connection somewhere…' He slumped his shoulders, waving away the young woman as he dropped himself into the nearest sofa.

'Admit it. You forgot you don't need to eat!'

'Maybe I did!' James snapped back at Eva's taunt, 'But I would have still shared it! Ain't that right bro?'

Richard sprawled across the seat next to James, completely uncaring of the developing argument. Whether he could still be referred to as James's brother was somewhat debatable. Since the _bottling_ over a week earlier, the _immerser_ had failed to recover his sanity. Curling around himself, the man's brain had been crudely rewired into seeing itself as the Liepard Pokemon character Richard had enjoyed playing so much. This change in self-image was reflected in every inch of the man's body language and mannerisms.

Bagheera rolled over onto his back, sending a glare over towards Eva. The cheeky grin on Eva's face, not to mention James's wagging tail on the sofa, gave away how much they were both enjoying the banter. That didn't stop Bagheera from grumbling under his breath when he quickly realised he was being mostly ignored. Not that he minded too much, but it was something of note.

He licked the back of his hand and rubbed at an awkward itch on his cheek. Bagheera wasn't sure if he was pleased or annoyed at the thin cover of stubble across his chin.

'Look! Why don't we get two bowls?'

'I doubt he even wants Popcorn!' Eva threw her hands in the air. Bagheera's low grumble might have been interpreted as agreement. He wriggled on the sofa, shimmying closer to the adjacent LEONOV before finally resting his chin on James's thigh.

'Well he's on you now. You can't move with a cat on your lap.'

'He's my **brother**.' The _uploader_ corrected sharply. James craned his neck to look down the top of his muzzle-like faceplate at the man cuddled up next to him. 'He's definitely improving. Like, we actually had a proper conversation over breakfast. He can do everything he can before...it's just that he's kinda forgot that he's human.'

Eva just grunted in response. She handed the Popcorn to James to hold before throwing herself into the other sofa. After rearranging her blue hoodie, she rummaged in a pocket for her softscreen. The young woman grimaced, lighting up the tablet and scrolling through her various alerts.

James watched Eva rather enviously. He didn't actually need a tablet to access everything the device could, given that his consciousness was perpetually hooked into the HORIZON system. The ergonomically designed LEONOV immersion interface made things like checking news feeds or watching the weather trivial.

For nearly half an hour they basked in the silence of the rural Jersey countryside.

A knock on the door came as a surprise.

Bagheera shot bolt upright in an instant. The sub-second switch from resting against his brother to leaping off the sofa sent popcorn flying everywhere. The man-come-Liepard stumbled on all fours clumsily, still unable to comprehend that he wasn't the nimble feline imprinted on his mind.

Yana let herself into the house, calling out a loud 'Hello!' before shutting the door firmly behind herself. Eva didn't get up from the sofa, casting a look over her shoulder before returning back to her softscreen. James was more keen to meet the new arrival. He bounced up onto his metallic, clawed feet just as the programmer poked her head around the door. Bagheera, who had been stalking across the room, paused upon seeing Yana. He made a show of uncaringly scratching himself under an armpit with his chin.

Yana rolled her eyes, 'So. Been keeping quiet?'

'Yep.' James tilted his head, trying not to look at the scattering of food across the floor, nor the scuff-marks along the side of the settee and bookshelf. Given that his moulded, muzzle-like face could express little beyond closing his lens shutters, James made up for it with expansive gesticulation. Small (and rather cute) adjustments of his head came naturally with the LEONOV body, something which the _uploader_ had only just become accustomed to. James no longer felt like he was simply looking from behind the eyes of a cumbersome machine. Now the lines between his own self image and his mechanical body were overlapping.

James didn't know whether that worried him or not. Given that he'd spent so long inside HORIZON, the _uploader_ had assumed that VR had burnt away any sense of attachment to a physical body. However, James was rapidly beginning to enjoy the freedom of the LEONOV. It gave him the chance to explore the intricacies of the fractal dimensions nestled inside the natural world that simulated reality simply lacked.

Of all the people in the room, Bagheera seemed to appreciate James visual expressions the most. Perhaps it was the feline nature of the sleek black robot, or that it housed the deranged man's perceived trainer, but he scooted closer to the LEONOV.

'I picked up a few things for you.' Yana ambled into the room, lifting a shopping bag into view before dropping it next to the doorway. Bagheera perked-up at the crinkled cardboard but eyed Yana wearily. 'And, uh...Iron Bru...as requested?'

'It's Irn.' Eva correctly absentmindedly, her Scottish accent growing thicker as she mentioned the stereotypical drink. She had her legs curled up on the sofa, balancing a phone on her knee so as to scroll with both thumbs. 'You can drop that on my tab.'

Yana shrugged, wandering into the living room with her hands clasped behind her back. The programmer had the decency to ditch her dusty Doc Martins at the door, showing off the delight of multicoloured spotted stocks instead. Her eyes quickly took in the twin sofas, coffee table, television, and tattered books on a small bookshelf. It was a quaint, if typically English property. For a moment, the view of the rolling Jersey countryside caught her attention.

Unnoticed by the others, the programmer puffed out a small sigh. A second later and any hint of a wistful expression evaporated.

'You've been following the news I see.' Yana indicated the blank television dryly, dropping into a sofa next to the Scott. Eva grunted, eyes flicking up momentarily from her personal tablet.

'I'm getting the latest feeds updated every two minutes. It's interesting...Harry's getting some backlash but mostly support. Like, fuckin' SONY have bulldozed the field with a public statement an hour ago. I didn't know...HEY!'

James, who had taken the moment of calm to rummage through Yana's shopping, jumped at the sudden shout. He almost dropped the bottle of fizzy drink he was studying, the natural reactions of his metallic robot re-catching the drink before it hit the floor.

'Heh…Sorry. You were saying?'

Eva gave her friend the evils before turning back to Yana, 'He's risking a lot. Like, this isn't just about GOKIA. This is about technology. If, at court, they pull him up for abusing his role as a tech giant...people aren't ever going to trust computers again. GOKIA will go the same way Google did and we'll be left in the dark ages.'

'True.' Yana agreed tiredly. She rolled up the sleeves of her loose blouse, 'But Harry knows what he's doing. This _needs_ a global stage.'

If Eva was annoyed at Yana's succinct and (as a result) rather cryptic response, she didn't show it. With a grumble, Eva darkened the display of her softscreen and leant back into a cushion.

'Uh...You think there's a conspiracy going on?' The young Scott joked.

'Almost certainly.'

'Wait...What?' Eva was taken aback by Yana's nonchalant behavior, but it was James who spoke up. He dropped into the sofa opposite, barely having enough time to adjust his titanium-alloy frame before Bagheera clambered up to lie beside him. If it was possible for the man to purr, he would have done. The man formerly known as Richard cuddled up in his over-sized purple fleece that was starting to smell unwashed. Not that James's LEONOV body has any scent-receptors to notice. Eva wrinkled her nose.

'The Britannica government think that Baba is meddling with online systems.' Yana explained tiredly, crossing her arms. 'We know she's not...but something is. They're using GOKIA as a scapegoat.'

'They…?' Eva drew out the word. She fiddled with the strings on her navy-blue hoodie.

'Who knows?' Yana shrugged, 'But we are about seventy-eight percent certain the global computer computer system has gained sentience...**Gaia** that is'

'Meaning?'

'Meaning-' The programmer replied to the Scott's probing, '**Gaia** might be self-aware enough to distinguish between computerised and non-computerised components. Richard was attacked because he was recognised as being a threat. It might be that somebody already knows about **Gaia **and they're attempting a cover-up. Blame GOKIA for something that already exists.'

'Why bother?' Eva snorted, shaking her head gently. 'Hey. Maybe it's Gaia who is secretly controlling everyone? All this time we've been living inside the Matrix! OooOOoooh…!' She waved her hands in front of her in a clear mockery over her own counter-conspiracy. The sudden movement attracted Bagheera's attention. He lifted his head from the rather uncomfortable position resting against James mechanical thigh.

The LEONOV tilted his head to the side, 'Because if that new got out, we'd have to shut down the whole internet. How could you advocate continued use of a global network which could think for itself?'

James's electronic voice pondered off the possible issues. Unthinkingly, a carbon-fibre-sheathed paw rested on Bagheera's shoulder. 'Better people don't know.'

Yana nodded in agreement. She picked at her nails, ignoring the softscreen buzzing on the armrest besides her. The expert computer programmer hummed to herself quietly as her mind began to toil over the political issues regarding her business and her AI brainchild. Normally such concerns were Harry's job.

'Then why get GOKIA involved and blame Baba? Surely it would be better to ignore it completely, or even _use _Baba to help somehow?' Eva refused to give up her questioning. 'If **Gaia **is real or-'

'That's the issue.' Yana cut through quietly, bumping a fist against her seat. 'We _don't know_ whether what we're seeing is _real _intelligence of a thinking being...or some form of self ordering within computer systems. Something did harm exDEV and violently respond to Richard. But was it some automatic, unthinking defense response that had assembled itself over time, or the actions of a self-aware being. And even if it is sentient, how would we know? **Gaia** might think...but that doesn't mean it thinks like we do. Perhaps subtle manipulations in stock markets is communication? Or maybe not. There's too many uncertainties. Auugghhh!'

By the time she'd finished her monologue, Yana was whispering under her voice practically to herself. Eva and James took a moment to look at each partly in confusion and wonder at the most words they'd ever heard Yana mumble in one go.

'It makes no sense!' The half-Czech programmer slumped into the sofa with a sigh.

'Well. As long as I still get my pocket money through, I don't really mind.'

Eva began to chuckle but trailed off into awkward silence when nobody else in the room responded.

'Pocket money?' James asked incongruously. His twitched tail hanging over the edge of his seat acted to punctuate his confusion. 'Is that some Scottish slang?'

'You know? As GOKIA technically employs me I get direct payments the start of every month.'

'That doesn't sound right.' Yana turned to the young woman, 'You're getting paid? What for?'

'To keep 'im company.' Eva thumbed in the direction of the LEONOV across the room. 'It's from your finance team. Somebody called...Corey? Corey Powell? On the…?'

Yana's sudden and sharp intake of breath interrupted the young woman. The programmer, who has previously been lounging in the plush sofa, tensed upright. It was like somebody had tugged at the strings of a puppet. By the time James and Eva had swung their attention round to the aged European, Yana had once more gained control of her body. She wiped at her eyes to buy a few more seconds, before turning to Eva with startling intensity. Having the full focus of the woman was unsettling.

'Are you _sure_?'

'Uhhh…yeah? Why? Is something wrong? Is this a scam? Baba organised it or...this isn't a...you...Yeah?' Eva babbled out the words as uncertainty gripped her. Was this Corey person a known scammer that she'd never come across?

All this time, Eva had thought she'd been a very minor employee of the biggest tech group in the world. It was through unusual circumstances (which Eva still kept as a close secret) that the Scott was now sitting in the Jersey Skybnb property. To even contemplate that she'd been guided here by illegitimate means dropped a lead weight in her stomach. Eva's throat was dry at the mere thought.

'You explained everything involving Baba.' James jumped to the rescue, though his robotically tainted voice did little to soothe Eva's growing panic. 'Of course you're employed by GOKIA.'

'Corey Powell?' Yana reiterated. Following a weak nod from Eva, the programmer puffed out a sigh. 'Wow. That's…interesting.'

'Hey!' The young Scott practically growled at the middle-aged woman, 'You better explain what the hell is going on! You can't just...just do that to me!' Eva was already turning on the programmer, a hand grabbing the closet cushion. She held the padded square before her like a weapon. Yana balked, raising her hands in surrender.

'Sorry! I just haven't heard that name in a while! Old employee-'

'Bullshit.' Eva spat. Despite her angry confusion, the tense situation was broken by a confused whine from Bagheera. Everyone's eyes turned to the man who was still curled up resting on James's lap. He grumbled something, growing frustrated at the inability to purr, before realising the room's focus on him.

'What now?' the hot-blooded Scott tossed the cushion over her shoulder.

Bagheera looked a little sheepish, blinking slowly before settling his chin back on the LEONOV's plated thigh.

'Hey, English Rich- uh Ba...Bagheera.' James tried, hating himself for using the Pokemon name Richard had inherited. Upon hearing the word, Bagheera's eyes darted up to gaze into the face of his perceived trainer. It was uncertain whether he understood that the mechanical giant was in fact his brother.

'Cooorey?' Bagheera tried, rolling the garbled word on his tongue.

'See. Richard must have got paid by the same person.' Eva pointed out the guess quickly, clearly clutching at straws in her anxious state.

Bagheera grumbled something, actually shaking his head. It was rather awkward motion given the unhinged man was resting against James's knee. After a frown, he tried something else.

'Liii…Liiiiepard.' He confirmed.

'English?' James pressed in his mechanical voice. Bagheera huffed but complied,

'Coreeey. Harry's wiiiife. Gud?'

'I didn't know he could speak.' Yana's eyes widened. She frowned, wrinkles forming across her forehead as she studied the man. Bagheera didn't respond well, practically hissing at woman until a soothing word from his perceived-trainer calmed him. The man shrunk back inside his over-sized purple fleece.

'Yeah that was good. Thanks bro.' James praised his brother before returning his attention to Yana. 'Harry's wife? Or ex-wife right? He's divorced.'

'Correct.' The programmer had the decency to look rather sheepish.

Eva wasn't impressed, 'Why is that so important? You made it sound like she died!'

'Because...it's complicated.' Yana ran a hand through her mess of ginger hair. When she realised that such a bland remark wasn't going to cut it for the two young adults, she puffed out a breath in defeat. 'Corey is...a lot to Harry. She was a data analyst with the ministry of defense the last time we talked. I can't understand why she'd be involved…unless Baba…'

The programmed trailed off,

'Baba?' Eva questioned. The anxious pit in her stomach simmered. 'You think the AI might actually be manipulating stuff?'

'Not like that.' Yana was quick to defend the AI. It was clear the half-Czech programmer was fighting internally as what to say. James sat uncomfortably, waiting for the aging woman to gather her thoughts. Eva drummed her fingers on an armrest.

'Corey split up with Harry a few years after we made GOKIA. They'd had a tough relationship for a while...and there had been tensions. After the divorce Harry…Harry didn't manage well. He worked constantly for years. They kept in contact for a while but drifted apart. She got involved with international security and went under the radar. I haven't heard from her since.'

Yana had a faraway look as her eyes drifted to the view outside the window. She didn't particularly enjoy recalling the relationship difficulties during the birth of HORIZON.

The change in tone compared to the popcorn chase earlier left Eva struggling for words.

'Why did they...uh, get divorced?'

Yana sucked on her teeth, 'They had a fall out. They were both...uh, characters? It was a difficult relationship.'

'It must have been.' Eva replied dryly, 'If she went into secret service to get away from him.'

If the Scott was trying to elicit a response, it didn't work. Yana shrugged but didn't comment. The programmer was clearly tired and fell into her typical state of near muteness. As if to make up for the awkward silence she'd created, Eva pondered to herself aloud;

'So if GOKIA isn't paying me...then who is?'

James shrugged, not moving his eye lenses from watching his brother. If there was a plaintive look, then the LEONOV lacked the abilities to express such melancholy. Taking a slow gaze around the sun-dappled living room, Eva considered the increasingly shady circumstances which had led her to this point. Sat opposite was a cutting-edge space assembly robot inhabited by the first human _uploader_ cuddling next to scarred former-welder who didn't know they weren't a Liepard...not to mention the infamous computer programmer responsible for the world's only legal artificial intelligence; Eva didn't know why a former _adav_ like herself was here at all. Until recently, she hadn't had any prospects beyond acting as a faceless advertisement body in VR porn.

Why had Baba chosen her of all people? And who was this Corey person that she'd mysteriously been in contact with? Not knowing frustrated her. The Scott played with their softscreen, turning it off and on in agitation at the unresolved mystery.

For a while the four of them rested in an uneasy silence.

That was, until a certain purple-fleeced character lifted his head from James's thigh. He sniffed the air once, surveying the room quietly before prodding at the LEONOV with his nose.

'What's the matter?' James asked patiently

Bagheera blinked slowly before turning his attention to the small bowl of popcorn resting of the seat besides the LEONOV. If it was possible to grin, a huge cat-like smile would have spread across James's face. He picked up the bowl and placed is down in front of his brother.

'See! I told you it was for sharing!'

Eva snorted, but kept her eyes fixed on her softscreen.

* * *

END

* * *

Thus marks the end of the latest installment of Error. There were a few references in this chapter that may need some explanation. In mathematics, a fractal dimension is a ratio providing a statistical index of complexity comparing how detail in a pattern changes with the scale at which it is measured. Fractal dimensions are the cause of the 'Coastline Paradox' whereby a coastline of an island becomes longer the smaller the unit of measurement used (or the degree of cartographic generalisation). Sentience, in reference to a computer developing intelligence, refers to the capacity to perceive experiences subjectively - i.e. to have emotion. It's worth noting that consciousness may not be necessary for sentience. This might become important in later chapters.

Once again, a huge thankyou for reading! We're close to ten-thousand views and it's great to know my work's being enjoyed. A shout-out to R'love for helping with ideas and proofreading (You're a star). Next update should be up within a few weeks, depending on how much I get distracted by finishing Fort Haste. Enjoy!


	18. Chapter 17

[CHAPTER 10001]

* * *

"_...__that blue-and-white ball is orbiting a rather normal star, tucked away on the outer edge of a galaxy_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

A chorus of Pidove announced morning had arrived across the sleepy town. Ancient woodland surrounding Azalea was home to a range of bird-type Pokemon which disturbed the peace of the quaint settlement. Even as the most southerly settlement of the Johto region, the HORIZON-simulated town had everything you could possibly need. Most trainers passed through to pick up supplied on the way to catch a glimpse of Celebi at the shrine in Ilex forest. Others visited simply to buy a handful of customizable Pokeballs for an extortionate price.

A pair of sleepy slowpoke basked in the morning sunlight. They spared a brief look at two people walking by, unaware of who the couple were. James looked every part the Pokemon trainer, with a red cap and brown satchel bag housing plenty of room for future gym badges. The _uploader_ reviewed the picturesque town with a warm smile.

_Normality_

It was a surprisingly refreshing to return once more to the confines of HORIZON. Not that James had truly left, but he'd almost forgotten his existence had become an inherent part of the simulation. Strolling down the street in his own body, James enjoyed the simplicity of being able to mooch around on two legs without a long metallic tail trailing behind. Adapting to the LEONOV had been a fun challenge, but the _uploader_ was glad to be back in his comfort zone. There was a familiarity to the perfection of the Pokemon realm. Even if the geology still needed tweaking, the sounds of Pidgeys in the trees was enough to bring a smile to his face.

'What's made you so happy then?' Rikola gave a sly sideways glance. The young trainer, back in her rather garish attire topped by bright blue hair, ambled down the pavement. Missy trotted by her feet. As a rather tall Braixen, the fire type could have been mistaken for a child wandering alongside the two young adults. She whirled a stick between her paws in thought, toes scuffing at the stone beneath her feet.

James hadn't been listening to his friend. The man scratched at his unruly brown hair before rubbing his nose. Even if James _knew_ he was still within a simulation, the modelled feeling of wind on his cheeks (not to mention an actual mouth to bend in a small grin) was enough to bring a smile to his face. Sure, the LEONOV was cool, but it wasn't designed for _uploaders _like himself missing reality. The robotic feline had been designed for zero gravity rather than comfort. James had doubts that a market for homesick virtual players would be profitable any time soon.

The two trainers, with a somewhat glum Missy trailing behind, waited to cross the main Azalea highstreet. A couple of small electric cars trundled past driven by NPC. A Machamp was leading traffic, waving the pedestrians over once a bus had taken a turning.

'I don't get it.' Rikola blurted out once they'd crossed. 'You're grinning like you're holding in a fart whilst Missy here seems to be brooding over something.'

Upon hearing her name, the Braixen's huge fluffy ears perked up. She sent a confused mumble in Rikola's direction before shrugging.

'I think she's missing somebody.' James massaged his cheeks. It had become a bad habit of reminding himself he was no longer housed in a machine. 'You know. It actually feels weird being back home. With you, I mean.'

'Huh, thanks...' Rikola rolled her eyes.

'Not like that! I mean, uh...now I _know_ more about you!' James backpedaled the conversation, holding back a laugh. 'Like, we've met in real life and stuff! You could have been anybody before.'

'Well you've only got Baba to blame for that.' Rikola faked a pout. It was amazing how accurately the cheeky expression matched the real woman. Apart from the stark blue hair and the strange choice of military-cut clothes, Rikola looked almost identical to her real self. Eva was presently sat in their house in Jersey with a SONY headset on. James didn't know whether HORIZON was scanning her face as they spoke, or it was simply another projection of his own perceptions.

Missy twiddled her stick absently. Now and then she struck is gently through her tail like a match, achieving a weak flame that puffed out a few seconds later.

'I've heard the gym here has a good coffee shop...' James voiced aloud. 'I bet they have a good choice of Truffles too.'

Upon hearing the mention of said Pokemon treat, Missy's mood flipped in an instant. The Braixen pretty much leapt on the spot. Sticking her twig into the fur of tail, the fire-type twirled before tugging onto Rikola's hand.

'_**Braaaixen~!**_' Missy chimed happily. Rikola's face went through a rollercoaster of emotions. After shooting a rather flat expression towards James, she bent down and ruffled the fur on the Braixen's head. James pretended not to notice the affection behind the gesture.

'Sure! We can have a look.' Rikola played down the offer. However, the fire type licked her muzzle at the mere thought of food as her trainer straightened. 'You know, we could just chat in the living room? It's not like I taste what I'm drinking.'

'Well how the tables have turned!' James replied in mock horror. The sly response only achieved getting a small elbow in the side from Rikola. 'Anyway. Missy wouldn't get her Truffled.'

'**Hmmph!' **The fire-type agreed with a cute nod.

The Azalea town gym specialised in bug-types. If it wasn't clear from the large letters on the sign outside, it became unavoidable inside the main lobby. Spiders were everywhere! From Spinarak playing with Joltiks on the reception desk, to a rather butch challenger walking besides an even larger Dewpider. Rikola shuddered, almost glad she was holding Missy's hand. The fire-type had spotted the gym cafe almost instantly. She practically dragged the two trainers across the reception area to the counter. Only then did she let go, bouncing over to the glass display cabinet housing a multi-coloured range of Truffles. James was surprised the Braixen didn't leave behind a trail of drool.

'Right. So we know what Missy wants...Fancy a coffee? Uh...You can just hold it I guess?'

'Eh, whatever.' Rikola glanced up at the board. She didn't look at the various options for long, choosing instead to scan the small cafe setup. A collection of square tables with bamboo stools were positioned next a curving glass window. Wooden sideboards and signage seemed to match the jungle theme characteristic of the gym.

'Why coffee?' Rikola asked once they'd ordered and found a seat. Missy perched on a stool with them. A fist-sized red Truffle didn't last long on the plate in front of her as the fire-type gobbled up the sweet treat. The Braixen was content to sit and lick the remaining morsels from between her vulpine teeth.

'Why not? It's a new mod that Baba wants me to try. She's updated the taste simulations and wanted me to give it a test drive.'

'Taste?' The young woman stirred her drink, marveling at just how well HORIZON simulated complex liquids like hot chocolate.

'We're working on it. I've tried a few ideas and Baba seemed impressed, so we're-'

'Wait wait wait.' Rikola interrupted, holding up her hands as a physical sign to pause the conversation, 'You've been trying things? Like actual _programming _with Baba?'

'We've been doing it for a while now. I don't really need to rest as such, so Baba has been teaching me a few tricks whilst you've been sleeping. The geology mod was going to be way too hard...so I've been starting small. Taste was something I wanted to get right.' James admitted the latter with a grin. The _uploader_ picked up his cup of steaming coffee, sipping at the surface. Rikola watched his face across the table as young man squeezed his cheeks in sourly.

'Not good?'

'It needs work.' James mumbled, placing the cup down with finality. 'I'll have to tweak a few things. It's more sharp than bitter.'

'_Tweak_?' Rikola almost didn't believe the young man.

'I'll talk to Baba.' The _uploader_ sighed, fiddling with a teaspoon. 'She's been showing me some tricks on manipulating the codes. It's kinda hard to explain. I feel like I'm some kind of intern _way_ out of my depth...but I'm learning stuff.'

'I didn't think you'd be allowed to mess with HORIZON just like that? Does Yana know about all this?'

Rikola played with the fur on top of Missy's head, voicing the question absently. The Braixen enjoyed the petting, even if the motions were completely illusionary to her trainer. Eva lacked any form of haptic feedback, meaning the pats were nothing more than playable actions. The warm smile spreading across the fire-types muzzle, however, did create a very real bubble of pride in the player.

It took James a while to contemplate an answer, 'To be honest, my whole _being here_ is kinda illegal. Being _uploaded _like this makes things a bit difficult. I think Baba is just trying to keep my mind busy and in the right place. It's cool to think I'm helping in some way.'

Rikola just grunted in agreement.

James took a few moments to scan the small cafe area and the rest of the lobby beyond. A surprising number of challengers were coming in and queuing at the front desk. Many had Pokemon on their sides or balanced on their shoulders. The _uploader_ spotted a few of the franchine favourites - an Eevee cuddled up in the arms of one trainer and a Pikachu sat on the shoulders of another. There was a tense vibe as the different players waited for a slot to battle the bug-type masters. Yet, any mood of apprehension was muffled by a buzz of excitement in the complex.

Not a pre-programmed emotion, but real genuine excitement. James marveled at how well a simulation could capture such things. No _statrolls _were needed to identify the energy in the steps of challengers that exited back through the lobby space - this time with bright red ladybird badge in their collections.

Rikola wasn't sharing the same mood. She tickled Missy under the chin, clearly growing bored of the small coffee shop. James adjusted himself on his stool, and tried to make conversation.

'You think Nintendo are going to get done for the crash?'

'Nah.' Rikola puffed out a sigh, 'Has it even been reported that the crash was initially triggered on the Pokemon platform?'

'Maybe not.' James just shrugged.

For a few minutes, Rikola seemed content to pet her Pokemon and watch players interact with the simulation. A few trainers appeared to make use of the small cafe, but a quick check of their _statrolls_ identified them all as NPCs. They were needed to bolster the ambiance of the cafe, what with the soft jazz playing from behind the drinks counter. Rikola wasn't paying much attention. It was clear she was thinking about something, playing with the hot chocolate before her. James wondered just how much of Rikola's tense frustration was being translated from the real world.

'Uugh!' The young woman finally burst out. She brushed short blue hair out of her eyes, 'I just don't get why this is all happening!'

The _uploader's _blank stare forced her to explain further,

'I mean you _uploading_ and Rich _immersing..._and me sat here on my SONY. You'd have thought that the whole concept of global VR would have broken the world. But nope! Everyone just gets pissed off when it all shuts down. Humans get used to advancements so quickly they never seem to fathom what's really changed. Well...until they hear about **Gaia**. That thing killed exDEV. I bet you they'll be making movies about it.'

'So...what you're saying is that you don't get _people_?' The young man reiterated with a chuckle. James took a sip of his coffee before remembering just how rank it tasted. Rikola couldn't hide a cheeky smile as she regarded the sour-faced man in front of her. For all the wonders of technology that James representing, the man was so _average_ it was almost funny.

'Humans are weird.' James agreed. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, 'Am I allowed to say that? Now that I'm _technically_ not human any more…?'

Rikola waved the comment away, not wanting to give-in to the man's poor attempt at humour. 'I don't think the team at GOKIA really get the credit they deserve. I mean...HORIZON is…well...'

She trailed off. For a long few moments, the woman stared into the distance.

'I just don't get what people have against it. Like, being in VR isn't something people should feel _entitled _to have.' Rikola finished tiredly, 'I can't believe after all of this...that people actually distrust GOKIA?'

'Harry isn't exactly the type of follow the rule book.' James pointed out.

'But life isn't like that...' The young woman mumbled. She scanned the small cafe area, remarking at just how far removed it was from her first experiences in virtual reality. Bending the rules had become part of her life. Well, before Baba had swooped in and dragged her out of the misery of being an _adav_. Unless that wasn't true at all…? Rikola didn't want to think about the mysterious benefactor that had funded her. Corey who was somehow Baba but also somehow Harry's ex-partner?

For a long while the two sat in silence.

The sound of soft jazzhop filled the gaps between the sound of customers chatting and baristas' working away in the background. James took a moment to study Rikola when she wasn't looking. Missy was leant against her side, one of the woman's hands gently ticking the fox's ear.

'You know, _seems we're here_, you might as well have a crack at getting a badge.'

'Wait...what?' Rikola jumped out of her internal musing,

'A gym badge.' James grinned, nodding at Missy across the table. The Braixen had perked up, eyeing the two trainers expectantly. 'Missy seems keen. Might be a good excuse to start the trainer's circuit?'

'At the second gym?' Rikola replied flatly.

'Come on...You've got enough training in to wipe the floor with them. Fire is super-effective against most bug-types anyhow!' The young man spoke quickly to get his point across before Rikola could argue. Much to James's surprise, she seemed to consider the possibility.

'It's a thought.' The young woman pondered, her face softening. 'Hmm, whatcha think Missy?'

The Braixen was nodding so fast that the simulation almost blurred.

'_**Aaaixen!' **_

'Well that's a yes from her. How about you? Have you caught anything or…' Rikola trailed off, remembering at the last moment what James had once promised, 'Ah, yeah. Sorry.'

'It's complicated.' James waved away the woman's concern, 'I promised Baa-**Richard** we'd do it together. I...I don't know what's going to happen with that now. He can't _immerse_ in here without this **Gaia** thing going berserk. And his mind is...yeah. It's complicated.'

Rikola drummed her fingers on the table,

'You know, _uploading _might be an option?'

'For Richard?' James sucked on his teeth, 'I'm not sure...what with ethics and stuff. He's due a full checkup and scan tomorrow, so we'll take it from there.' James studied his palms. There were a few moments delay before he realised how much he'd dampened the mood, 'Anyhow! We've got to go and get your signed up!'

'_**Braixennnn~!' **_Missy echoed, pumping the air with a paw before hopping down off her chair.

'Doesn't look like I have a choice.' Rikola groaned with mock horror. However, it didn't take much to notice the glimmer of excitement in her eyes.

'That's the spirit.' James chuckled, leading them over towards the front desk.

* * *

END

* * *

There's not much to comment on for this chapter. I'm expecting to write another two chapters to wrap up the story, and maybe a third to tie up all the loose ends (depending on how I choose to segment the concluding story arc). I've decided to focus on tying up this story before moving onto Fort Haste, so expect a chain of uploads in the coming weeks.

A huge thanks to Repenexus for the review! There's a bit more Pokemon stuff going on in this chapter for a Pokemon fanfiction! Otherwise, thanks as always for the views, favs, and follows! And a shout out to R'love again for helping read through and point out increasingly obvious spelling mistakes...Enjoy!


	19. Chapter 18

[CHAPTER 10010]

* * *

"_...__everything you've ever known is behind your thumb_…"

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

Harry Eisenhower didn't like the fact he was back inside yet another courtroom.

The businessman heaved out a sigh, ambling up to his assigned desk with a large folder of paper tucked under one arm. Once more being under the scrutiny of a collection of judges left a sour taste in his mouth. The Britannica Court of Appeals building was everything it needed to be - blank and lacklustre. A long mahogany table marked the back of the courtroom over which hung the bold blue flags of Britannica. Harry wiped at the sweat on his forehead as he took a seat. Positioned dead-centre before the three judges, Harry felt the eyes of the world as pins-and-needles down his spine. There was no jury as such, but a large audience of professionals who had been asked to spectate.

Taking a long look around the room, Eisenhower was starting to have second thoughts. His appeal was against a mandate that had already been written to strip him of HORIZON and over half the ventures he supported through GOKIA. The plans had already been publicly announced - almost as if Britannica had already decided the fate of the appeal. The whole formality by which the judges took their seats, as recorded by a pair of clerks, was decidedly sterile. It was this lack of character which made the hairs on the back of the aging man's neck stand on end. With no prosecution table, Harry felt like an ant stood before the towering blank face of the Britannica state itself.

Though, rebelling against such a huge organisation did create a tingle of mischievous excitement. Harry turned to scan the chosen members of the public behind. He almost missed Yana positioned near the back door. _How had she managed to sneak in? _

The faint hum of chatter in the room was silenced by a judge calling the start of the appeal. From right to left, Harry identified the supposedly unbiased individuals as Skinny, Short, and Spotty; the latter two both being rather large women. Spotty had a particularly cutting voice which she used to full extent, calling for silence across the court audience.

'Well. Here goes nothing...' Harry Eisenhower mumbled under his breath. He adjusted himself in his chair and waited for the three judges to take a seat.

'The court is now in session.' Spotty declared loudly. The added hint of Scandinavian to her speech only seemed to make her words sound harsher as the judge introduced their various subsidiaries. Once they'd all settled in, Spotty pulled back the sleeve of her gown and reviewed a softscreen on the table before her. With deliberation, she began to describe the context to the court hearing.

Only a few minutes into the description of the appeal and Harry began to wish he hadn't skipped his morning coffee. It had been a toss-up between consuming caffeine to maintain alertness and the substance making him need the loo. The businessman also regretted not getting a professional lawyer for the appeal. However, it felt like poetic justice to stand out there by himself...even if he did need a pee.

'Are you paying attention Mr Eisenhower?'

Harry hid a yawn behind his hand and nodded. The GOKIA chairman tried to relax, sprawling behind his small desk. He ruffled the folder of papers he'd brought as notes with a chubby finger.

'For the record, would you please confirm the purpose of your appeal.' The spotty woman requested broadly. She had a round face which appeared to house a perpetual scowl, not to mention what looked like acne.

There was a long moment before Harry found his voice, 'Yes, uh...I am appealing against the actions of the Britannica government to discredit the company GOKIA for which I am former CEO and presently chairman.'

'Discredit.' Spotty chewed on the word. Leaning forward so as to rest her elbows on her desk, she spoke over the top of her clasped hands. 'Could you define **exactly** in what ways the state of Britannica has attempted to harm the reputation of the company "GOKIA"?'

And just like that, the appeal began. Harry didn't want to think of the court proceedings as a trial, but the probing questions from the three judges steadily became more confrontational. The businessman's hearing was an attempt to bring to attention GOKIA's innocence over the resulting impacts of the HORIZON crash.

The line of defense which Harry promoted ranged from claims over unlawful sanctions already limiting trading to threatening behavior from the Britannica government. The latter were effectively attempting to confiscate his company and Harry made sure to explain the situation as frankly as only he could. The appeal was compelling. Throughout, the businessman spoke clearly and firmly, taking sips of water to stop his tongue feeling like sandpaper. Harry's experience of board meetings and hundreds of presentations didn't seem to dent the steel resolve of the judges however.

'Not to mention-' Eisenhower straightened his tie '-the misconduct by which the Britannica government unlawfully arrested and detained myself following-'

'And **yet-**!' Harry wasn't expecting to be interrupted by the skinny judge. He had taken the reins in an attempt to undermine Eisenhower's apparent truthfulness, '-we have evidence of more serious misconduct by GOKIA.'

The man cleared his throat loudly, before leaning forward to speak. A microphone amplified his raspy voice. Harry's adept, but mostly ignored, statement had been falling on deaf ears.

'This includes the recent LEONOV programme, from which I have reports...has been **illegally** tested for civilian use. Can you confirm this Mr Eisenhower? Given that such testing would be a breach of your contract with the Britannica, and international, space programmes?'

'I don't believe you have any evidence the LEONOV programme was tested for civilians. If so, I would like to see it myself.' Harry spoke as calmly as he could muster, 'A single LEONOV robot was tested _by _a civilian to ensure quality of life during simulations when the machinery is employed in low earth orbit. The LEONOV hardware is specifically designed for usage in space.'

'Is that so?' The skinny man rubbed at his perfectly groomed chin. His spider-like fingers wrapped around his face to the extent that he ended up stroking either side of his cheeks. 'Then you **cannot** deny that you used your new-' The wiry judge scanned a softscreen tablet on his desk, '-_immersion _capabilities, which you _registered_ as **strictly experimental** may I add; to improperly test your LEONOV programme...breaching the strict guidelines which granted approval by Britannica in twenty-seventy?'

'There was nothing improper about what I did.' Harry bristled,

'**Have** you been using new _immersion_ technology to install human intelligence into computer networks?' Skinny refused to back down. Each question seemed to draw him further and further of his chair. At this point, the judge practically had their stomach pressed against the desk before them.

'No.' Harry replied hotly. The businessman put his hands on the table, 'I've been completely open about the use of _uploading _and _immersion_ to control robotic machines remotely on Earth and in space. Both techniques act as a remote method to control the recipient LEONOV **only**. I have not been maliciously using human minds to control computer networks as you suggested.'

'But in order to control these machines remotely, you are using-'

'Of course I'm using bloody computer systems!' Harry gritted his teeth. He didn't mean to snap, regretting the outburst as soon as it had happened. A trickle of cold sweat ran down his back under a tight white shirt, 'But I did not _install_ anybody inside a computer. If you want to ask technical questions, make sure you know what you're _actually _asking!'

The skinny judge sniffed, before nodding slowly. His bald head bobbed like a pigeon. Britannica had modernised much of the court system to the point that judges no longer wore grey wigs. The court of appeal was bland without any of the pomp and gold emboss. Scowling, Skinny tapped at his softscreen for a few moments. He waved at his spotty companion to continue the line of inquiry. She sniffed, setting back her wide shoulders before speaking.

'Then how would you describe your process of _uploading_ Mr Eisenhower?'

'I am not here to give a lecture on computer engineering.' Harry avoided the question. There was a small murmur from the collection of professionals seated behind. The businessman wasn't sure if it was condemning, or in agreement at what would be a highly tedious process.

'I am asking a technical question relevant to this case.' Spotty repeated, harsher this time. The Scandinavian accent in her voice sounded like chalk on a blackboard.

'And _I _refuse to answer.' Harry set his jaw firmly, '_Uploading _isn't relevant to this case. Myself and colleagues have already spent over thirty hours in court defending my strictly legal and lawful use of _uploading_ in a previous situation regarding James Lovell. I'm sure you can look over that in your own time.'

'There is no need to be so standoffish Mr Eisenhower.' Spotty inspected the businessman so intensely it might have been mistaken for a staring contest. Harry's open rebellion against the repeated questioning was something Spotty was obviously new to. She calmed herself however, taking a few seconds to note something down on her softscreen. 'But you can confirm that James was the only person your company GOKIA has ever uploaded?'

'As a result of his death, yes.' Harry wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

'That skirts my question.' Spotty replied bluntly. She leant over her softscreen, 'GOKIA has not _uploaded _anybody else aside from James Lovell?'

There was a long pause,

'No.' Harry didn't exactly appear confident in his answer.

A surprising amount of tension had built in the courtroom regarding that single question. It was as if, thanks to the antagonistic inquest, Harry was going to declare numerous secretive _uploaders_. It wouldn't have been that far fetched, given allegations the Britannica government had made as an excuse to confiscate HORIZON. The sound of the clerks' frenzied typing amplified in their corner as note continued to be made on the appeal. Spotty seemed to accept the small pause in the case, eyeing the invited professionals as if gauging the response of a jury. She cleared her throat once more.

'Part of your appeal is also in regard to forwarded concerns that the Britannica Government have for the national and international safety over your artificial intelligence, Baba, currently used to manage GOKIA's HORIZON virtual reality platform. Baba has been influencing global computer systems including stock markets, currency exchanges in Eastern Europe, and share prices in various companies.' Spotty barely took a breath, 'Have you got any evidence to suggest otherwise?'

'I would like to see what evidence Britannica's Government have supplied to support their claim.' Harry countered.

'May I remind you this is your **appeal** Mr Eisenhower, the evidence which you ask for has already been supplied.' Spotty's sharp accent only exaggerated the sarcasm dripping from her tone.

'Yeah, and it was bullshit.' Harry leant back on his chair, crossing his arms. 'I want evidence that isn't merely correlation without cause. Just because similar things occurred when exDEV was around doesn't mean that Baba is creating the same effects.'

'So you are denying that the HORIZON crash had an effect of global trading markets, technological stocks, and currency excha-'

'No.' The defendant cut through. He rubbed at his forehead with a chubby hand, 'Of course the crash and following shutdown of HORIZON had repercussions globally...but this wasn't something we were in control of. It was a computer glitch, not whatever staged nonsense that Britannica claimed.'

The large female judge was obviously taken aback at the rebuke. She twiddled her thumbs for a moment. Harry leant back in his chair, deciding that now wouldn't be the best moment to reveal the _true_ tampering occurring across the internet.

'What evidence do you have to suggest the glitch was purely accidental?' The skinny judge jumped in. He tapped his long spider-like fingers on the desk. 'We have yet to discuss your publicly released statement regarding the cause and duration of the HORIZON shutdown. Given the timing of the crash a few months before the parliamentary elections and the importance that HORIZON had on fixing-'

'This is all hypothetical.' Harry interrupted loudly. He adjusted his beige tie with a chubby hand as if to make more room for his neck. 'And you cannot make these claims when the crash was purely accidental. GOKIA followed a predefined safety protocol flawlessly to protect the HORIZON platform. I have been totally transparent about the unexpected crash and how it was dealt with.'

'And yet you intentionally shutdown HORIZON?'

'Yeah.' Eisenhower didn't bother hiding the mocking sarcasm in his voice, 'To find and isolate the computer glitch, and then re-code to ensure that it can't happen again. I've provided as evidence the full crash report and following logs on removing the glitch from our systems.'

There was a pause,

'I believe that on these logs it shows you could intentionally recreate the same glitch?' The soft voice of the shorter judge was a welcome relief from the frenzied questioning. Harry didn't know it was a good-cop bad-cop tactic, but it worked. She sipped at a glass of water.

'Yes. We recreated the same conditions to ensure that a similar glitch wouldn't be triggered again.'

That seemed sufficient for the judges. Or at least, it gave them a few seconds to mull over their thoughts. Harry scratched at his chin. He'd been stuck behind his desk for a few hours now and his backside was getting sore. Adjusting his tie had become a bad habit as he struggled to know what to do with his hands. The atmosphere in the courtroom had settled into a quiet intensity that left Harry sweating.

In the lull, the skinny and short judges conversed with their chairs pulled back from the table, microphones turned off. Their faces were expressionless when the old male judge, almost skeletal in a tight shirt and blue tie, leant forward to speak.

'You logs didn't display exactly what triggered the glitch, and why such a weakness would exist in HORIZON's coding.'

'Uh, no.' Harry avoided blatantly lying. He knew exactly what caused the glitch. However, now wasn't the right moment to reveal that the global computer systems was aware and openly attacking anything human _immersed_ in online systems. That might cause an uproar Harry wasn't ready to trigger. Instead he rolled his tongue around his mouth and pretended to ponder.

'We're still unsure what caused the glitch. As for errors in our code, it was simply a matter of not being prepared for such an unexpected…' Harry trailed off. He avoid saying _Missing Number _by a heartbeat, only recovering to stutter, 'unexpected sequence of events.'

'So this was a fault in GOKIA's coding?' Skinny pushed, shooting out the questions before the GOKIA chairman had time to gather his thoughts.

That didn't stop an idea from popping into Harry's head. It was a possibility he'd been toying with in the sleepless night leading up to the appeal. Eyeing the table of judges on the raised platform before him, and the bold standard of the Britannica flags behind, he couldn't stop a small grin creeping across his chubby face.

'Yes.' Harry sat up in his chair, 'However, I argue that you are charging my entire company over the actions of only one member of staff...in regards to how the crash was initially dealt with. Penalising a whole company over the actions of one person, which should be an internal matter anyhow, is ridiculous.'

There was a pause,

Out of the three judges running the appeal, only Short had wits quick enough to even fathom a reply. 'Uh...given it was a computer fault, I don't understand how a single person can be blamed? As the coding is used under the ownership of GOKIA, your **company **is responsible.'

Harry's smile was deliciously smug,

'Well. You could blame Baba. I mean, she _was _the first person to react to the crash, running safety measures before anybody could even react. She alone was responsible-'

'We cannot blame your artificial intelligence for the HORIZON shutdown Mr Eisenhower.' The short judge continued. She sat up straight in her chair, sweeping away a long fringe of hair from her eyes. Thick glasses magnified her face to a distorted shape which was almost comical.

'Why not?' Harry's face was coy as he toyed with the idea, 'She was the person who completed the shutdown.'

'**Because**-' Spotty's tone was like a mother telling her child enough was enough. 'This is not an aspect of your appeal.'

'I am appealing against what are false allegations the Britannica state have made against my company. This involves falsely exaggerating the dangers or AI...and Baba in particular.

The three judges glanced at each other as if hoping somebody else would speak. After some deliberation, the short judge roller her shoulders before clearing her throat. Large glasses exaggerated her eyes.

'I think now would be a good point for a break.'

Harry couldn't help but feel like he'd already won a small victory.

The GOKIA chairman knew there was nothing personal about his appeal, but he was beginning to feel like the penalties being inflicted by the Britannica government were aimed at him specifically. Had they known the businessman properly, they'd had attempted to settle this fairly outside of court...rather than blackmailing him. Harry was too proud to make it easy. After a long toilet break, he returned to his desk with a more favourable mindset than when he first arrived.

Of course he cared very much about losing control of his company. But at this point, all Harry wanted to achieve was a suitable _fuck you_ to a country who had already made up their mind.

The appeal went on for hours. Following a number of objections to blatant scaremongering by Britannica, Harry had to continuously explain numerous data sets disproving various excuses for the Britannica state to take control of GOKIA. The pinnacle of the appeal seemed to be Baba herself. The businessman hadn't realised just how deeply ingrained the fear of uncontrollable technology really was in the general population. Still, against better judgement, that was the battleground which he chose for his appeal.

Harry took the stance that Baba should be treated as a human and employee of GOKIA and refused to back down. Sure, he was trying to stop Britannica confiscating his whole company, but that was a mute point. If Harry could force the state's hand to acknowledge Baba's rights, then many of Britannica's technology scares would become obsolete.

After literally two hours of fighting over the true accountability of the AI for her own actions, the short judge finally spoke up. It was late in the day and the three court personnel were more than tired of Harry's bullish responses. Shorty was the quietest of the three in the court of appeal, only appearing to interject when the other two had run of things out to say. This time however, she leant forward and regarding Harry over the rims of thick glasses.

'If we agreed that your artificial intelligence can be classified as a person, then you would need somebody to represent her in the court of law.'

Harry nodded, remaining silent. I wasn't that he didn't have anything to cheekily parry with, but his throat was so dry that speaking had become painful.

The short judge continued in an expressionless voice, '_And_ Given that the artificial intelligence is constrained by a computer, not to mention all the new legislation that would have to be in place to for such a trial to occur, I think your appeal is a case for the supreme court.'

The silence that remained when Short had finished was almost deafening. Harry gulped, internally groaning at what was effectively a threat to drag out the appeal for months rather than days. However, it was the stunned silence that made a call out from the guests behind even more unexpected.

'I can stand for Baba.' A woman asserted loudly from the stalls.

For a second there was only a shocked silence within the courtroom. Then, all at once, there was a communal shuffling of seats as everybody turned to look at the figure. Harry scooted around in his chair, squinting up at what had begun to feel like his audience. Maybe it was tiredness, but the woman's voice sounded somehow familiar. A burst of chatter started to fill the room at the unexpected self-announcement.

'Quiet please!' The spotty judge cut over the clamour, 'To the person that just interrupted the appeal, would you step forward and identify in what capacity are you able to represent the artificial intelligence?'

It didn't pass Harry's attention that one of the clerks was already calling security though his pocket softscreen. However, any concerns were quickly forgotten when Eisenhower managed to glimpse a proper look at the figure.

His mouth dropped open, 'Oh. Shit.'

There was no mistaking the woman that shuffled out of their seat. Even if it had been years since Harry had last seen her face, there was no mistaking his ex-wife. Corey had confidence in her stride that was indisputable, shoulders back and head upright. Sparkling blue eyes met the stares of the guests as if they were a challenge. She descended the steps to the centre of the court room with a natural grace in juxtaposition to a grey office wear.

'In **what **capacity are you able to represent the artificial intelligence Baba?' Spotty tried again, louder this time.

'Because I'm Baba.' Corey stated calmly. She didn't need to shout, her clear voice filing every corner of the bland courtroom. 'Or at least...she's me. Kinda.'

'That's impossible!' Spotty judge explained incongruously. Her own call seemed to mirror the feeling in the room, only amplifying the clamour. The guests behind seemed as eager to question the new figure as much as the judges themselves. Within the growing brouhaha, it was only Harry that was left unfazed about the reveal. Not because he knew just how true it was, but by how absorbed he was in Corey herself. As a young woman she'd been happy, athletic, and almost angelic in appearance with long blonde hair and a freckled face. Age had greyed her appearance and wrinkled her skin, but there was still a collected grace under it all that called to Harry.

'Baba is currently the world's only validated and _legal _artificial intelligence.' Spotty's voice was amplified over the courtroom via her microphone, 'Your claim is impossible.'

Harry gritted his teeth. Wiping at his mouth, he leant forward across his table and spoke clearly into his own mic. It was the only way to get his voice above the loud buzz in the courtroom.

'I can confirm that Baba is Corey.'

The complete lack of noise amongst the invited professionals was unexpected. For years Harry had had nightmares about publicly sharing such information...something that, up to now, had only been known to a handful of close individuals. He'd imagined outrage, rebellion, his company falling into ruin. But no. There was only a stunned and frankly unbelieving silence in the court of appeals.

Harry sniffed, trying to calm the frantic beating in his heart.

'This is outrageous! What evidence do you have to support this claim?' Spotty verged on disparate, eyes narrowing as she regarding Corey over her smartscreen. Already, two large guards were hovering at the courtroom side door.

'Because-' Harry went to explain but was interrupted by Corey herself.

'Because Baba is in fact a digitised copy of myself...a clone of my own intelligence.' The woman replied calmly. 'Programmers generated Baba based on my own consciousness back when HORIZON was just a concept and GOKIA hadn't even been founded.' Corey paused next to Harry's table, eyes ahead and completely neglecting the businessman. Harry's face had dropped into an expressionless stupor, if anything to hide the whirlwind of emotions spinning around inside his head.

'We can't just have-!' Harry was no longer listening. Amidst Spotty's feverish debate about the spectacle, the balding man leant over and tried to grab Corey's attention.

'What the hell are you doing here!?'

'Mr Eisenhower, this is an **important address**!' Spotty exploded at the insolent behavior. However, she was quickly snuffled by the short positioned on the chair next to her. The spectacled woman leant forwards and spoke firmly into her microphone.

'I think now would be a good time for a break. We shall convene in twenty minutes.'

Harry was out of his seat in an instant. Not to run for a much needed toilet break this time, but to at least be recognised by the woman waiting next to his desk. Harry didn't notice the judges stand and leave, nor the shifting in the invited guests' stalls. The businessman only had eyes for one person. Corey.

'What the...wha...why?' He stuttered. The words didn't come as the woman turned to her ex-husband. A sad smile dotted her narrow face, outlined by recently dyed curls of fair hair.

'Because it needed to be done.' Corey shrugged as if it was no big deal, 'I've been following your endeavours for a while now...mostly because that's what I've been paid to do. Britannica needs a shake up. And this is it.'

Her eyes traced up and down Harry's aging figure.

'I see you're keeping well. Long time no see.'

Harry blinked, unable to comprehend everything at once. 'Uh. Yeah. I…I was kind of hoping to drop the **Gaia** bombshell for that.'

'**Gaia**?' Corey chuckled, rubbing at her chin. She gave a long look around the Court of Appeals as if taking in the bland room for the first time. 'Is that one of Yana's nicknames? Ha. She hasn't changed.' Corey's laugh was like music, soft and genuine.

'Huh. James's actually.' Harry pulled a face. He adjusted his weight from foot to foot, begging for attention off the woman. Corey smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

'That's the _uploader_ kid right? And Gaia?'

'Yeah. Uh.' Harry dropped into a hoarse whisper. His eyes glanced around the front of the courtroom. A judge was already talking with a clerk and a suited man who could have been anybody. A few sideways glances in their direction spoke louder than words. 'The global computer system has gained sentience.'

Corey nodded as if the information was no more important than a second page headline. 'Why else do you think I'm here?'

Harry went to say something but was taken aback when Corey burst out into laughter. It was a warm chuckle that seemed to tinkle.

'Well. It's not that simple, exactly. Baba needs to be shut down. Given whatever bullshit you were pulling out your arse, I felt like I needed to step in. It's quite important.'

'_What!_?' Harry spluttered. The sudden sound drew the attention of a few guests keeping their seats warm in the stalls. 'I thought you were on my side?'

'It's complicated' Corey sighed, 'Machines do not think.'

'So you just waltz in and take control?' Harry's mood darkened. Although still smitten over the woman, all the heartache and worry that she'd caused him was started to bubble to the surface. The uncertainty, stress, and utter confusion swirled around his mind. 'I guess _you _can do that…'

'Look. They're checking who I am and my credentials now...' Corey shuffled on her feet, nodding over towards the clerks. One was already picking up their softscreen and heading over. She hummed to herself, scanning the courtroom before finally settling her eyes on Harry. She hadn't seen the man in years. It was amazing how much and how little he'd really changed. Sure, Harry might have put on weight and lost some hair...but there was a fierce sparkle to his eyes that were as fierce as they were distant.

'This is my case.' Harry spoke firmly, forcing eye contact with his ex-wife. 'Why did you have to get involved? In five minutes that stunt is going to be plastered every major media outlet!'

'Because whatever happens now is going to make history.' Corey smiled sadly, as if that explained everything. She made a fact of ignoring the bitterness in Harry's voice.

'And so you step in, undermine my appeal, and boldly declare James isn't the only _uploader_...and he's not even the first!' A cold rage began to build in the large man's chest. 'What gives you the right to do that? Just because you're some high-flying head of security? '

Corey didn't rise to the challenge. Instead she brushed her hair to the side and spoke after a long sigh.

'You know, I could ask the same of you Harry. What gives you the right to make something like Baba without asking me?'

* * *

END

* * *

OK! So this chapter turned out to be a bigger pain to write than I first realised. Excuse any inaccuracies in what turned out to be a rather lengthy court scene, some of which I can get away with given the fictitious nature of Britannica. There's not much jargon to explain. To summarise, the "Court of Appeal" is the highest court within present day England/Wales, with only the UK Supreme Court acting any higher. Given Britannica is based on a split UK joining with other European countries, the legal system is based on the UK government.

Once again, expect a chain of uploads over the next few Sundays to wrap this story in a few weeks. The final epilogue chapter will include some extra world building and comments on the whole EOrRRoR story and timeline. If you've got any questions or plot holes that need filling, drop a PM/review. As always, thanks for reading and a huge thanks to R'love who has acted as quality control for these final chapters. Enjoy!


	20. Chapter 19

[CHAPTER 10011]

* * *

"_...I was only a hero by default…"_

**James Lovell**

* * *

E.A.R.T.H.

00110010 00110000 00110111 00110011

* * *

_Machines do not think._

Out of all the things that Corey had said, that alone seemed to play on repeat through his mind. Harry Eisenhower was surprised he could remember even that. His brain felt like mush. The chairman's appeal in order to avoid Britannica's attempt to confiscate GOKIA had been a whirlwind. After two months, much of which had been spent flying between Jersey and the Supreme Court in London, Harry was beyond exhausted. At least it was over. He'd been running on coffee and adrenaline for far too long.

The verdict was now clear. GOKIA would lose many of its subsidies and positive sanctions from the Britannica government, who were also raising taxes and applying a sizable fine for the HORIZON shutdown. As a businessman, Eisenhower knew when to bite the bullet. Given the circumstances he thought the resulting actions were fair. Paying out a few million to the government and getting a sharp telling off were standard this day and age. It was the negative media coverage that did the true damage anyhow.

The full appeal had dug up a can of worms regarding Harry's often questionable dealings. Reading between the lines and it was obvious the businessman had been using his fortune to manipulate space systems science and influence space missions for decades. The _Shackleton Circuit_ orbital ring had only been suggested thanks to the availability of GOKIA technology to make such huge engineering feats possible. If they'd dug any deeper, the court would have found Harry tinkering in a much wider pool of Britannica's technological capital. It was a close call stopping the appeal turning into an arrest and life sentence.

Yet after weeks of evidence, counter-facts, and GOKIA being nitpicked for harmful operations Britannica _still _claimed to be in action...the appeal was over. The Supreme Court had ruled the final verdict and the case was closed officially. Even four days later, the global media was flinging out senseless hypothetical stories regarding what would change for the technology giant. Harry thought the end of the appeal might have brought some closure. That he could get on with his life.

Instead, all he felt was despair.

'Ughh….' Harry Eisenhower couldn't even describe the dejection he felt. 'Ahhh shit.'

Even swearing left him feeling empty. Sat in the kitchen of his Pinvale property, Harry was glad of the silence. Even if completely devoid of anything personal, the stoic room had the privacy he needed right now. Pushing around a mug of cold coffee on the table before him, Harry stewed over his thoughts. He'd brought an actual newspaper partly as a novel distraction, but also for the front page article. Half of the spread was a grainy photo of Corey coming out of the Supreme Court, looking away from the camera. A headline above claimed to have inside information on the case. The media were still days behind and the verdict had yet to be leaked.

Harry frowned, sipping at his lukewarm drink.

_Machines do not think._

If anything, that summarised everything wrong with the appeal. The agreement for GOKIA, and by extension Harry, to remain in control of HORIZON was for Baba to be deleted. That was the price to be paid. Or at least, that was the metaphor Harry Eisenhower reconciled himself with. Baba was caught in the crossfire and the court no longer cared if she caused the disruption or not...only that she was terminated.

It just went to prove that not only was the world still terrified of uncontrollable technology...but that the UN were still running the show. Even fighting his appeal within the Supreme Court, Harry felt like a pawn over which larger powers exerted control. The United Nations had taken the HORIZON crash as an opportunity to tighten the leash on the young, cocky new state of Britannica. Baba was a minor character in the footnotes of history. That riled Harry more than anything.

The large businessmen wanted to believe it was nothing personal. However, the appearance of his ex-wife proved that was far from the truth.

Harry sighed, recalling the events as he swirled coffee around his mug.

They'd met for drinks on Corey's last evening in London. The invitation had been impromptu, Harry picking up the message upon stepping into his hotel in Hammersmith. With a grumble he re-entered the tube station opposite, flashed his lobster card, and got on the Central Line to change for London Bridge.

It was a nice evening for a chat. The evening humdrum of taxis, buses, and the frequent sirens of ambulances enveloped the city in a calming hum of bustle and productivity. London was like that. It had a long history which sucked you in, making you feel like a piece of some bigger collective.

Harry met Corey at a small bar overlooking the river and the lights of Tower Bridge in the distance. She was already at the pub, saving a seat on a table for two lining the street. A travel suitcase was parked next to her feet.

'Wow. All packed up and ready to go eh?' Harry commented, pulling out a seat opposite his ex-wife. Corey graced the man with a smile, explaining she had a plane to catch in a few hours. Harry never learnt where. That alone was an indication that Corey was likely on yet more state security business. Secrecy for the sake of Secrecy. Harry wondered if she ever got bored of the lifestyle, ordering a couple of drinks to talk over.

'So...' The metal-framed seat creaked under Harry's weight as he leant back, 'Wanted to say a last goodbye?'

Corey rolled her eyes, 'Eh. I think we've had enough of those. No. To apologise actually.'

The man froze. _Apologise?_ Almost instantly Harry's mind rushed through a whole failed-marriage worth of things which Corey could confess to. He bit his tongue and remained silent, almost forgetting to thank a server when they arrived with two cold tumblers of fizzy. He watched Corey take a delicate sip, studying the wrinkles on her aging face for the first time. The dyed hair to cover the grey. The far-away look in place to hide however many years experience Corey had tinkering in international politics. A ruse that had become entwined with her personality. The Corey that Harry knew had never been this cold and deliberate.

'I should apologise about the court appeal.' The woman stated after some consideration, setting her drink down. Corey leant forward onto her elbows, resting her chin on soft hands. 'Out of everybody that could of….yeah.' She tried again, 'I...I'm sorry it was me who had to get involved. Especially after everything that has happened between us.'

Harry puffed out a sigh, 'That was a long time ago.'

And it was true. The balding man had told himself the same thing for years now as a way to avoid his lingering feelings. Slowly the lie had become true. Regarding Corey sitting in front of him, sharing drinks on the edge of the Thames, he realised just how much had changed. Harry wasn't the same idealistic computer nerd he'd once been. And Corey...well, she wasn't the easy-going angelic woman he'd fallen in love with. Having worked in international security and whatever else she wasn't allowed to enclose for two decades, Corey had become withdrawn. Her ready laugh was so ingrained into his memory it was like recalling something from a dream. Corey didn't laugh now.

'Yeah.' she agreed softly. 'I guess things have changed. The world's changed...you've changed it.'

'And you? You've been doing your bit I guess too?' Harry ignored the compliment. Corey smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

'Yeah. I've been doing my bit. It might not be the glamour that I was expecting….but hey ho.'

That was the closest Harry was ever going to get for an apology. Corey's dissatisfaction in their relationship was only eclipsed by her passion for the glitz and glamour of being a secret service agent. Corey had been a world-class analyst with a natural ability to pick out information from impossibly complex data. It had got Corey a doctorate in mathematics from a major London University...and was the reason why she got spotted by the Britannica Intelligence service. Harry could never compete with the woman's ambition. She knew what she wanted from life and Harry slipped out of that dream like a discarded toy.

'So **Gaia**.' Harry took a long sip from his drink. Thinking about their past was like prodding an old wound. 'I guess that's what we've got to blame for all of this?'

Corey's blank expression gave more away than the woman realised. Harry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before grumbling 'Oh come on! I'm not stupid. You're killing Baba as a scapegoat to draw attention away from the reality of the-'

'Harry...!' Corey cut through the man's babbling. A very purposefully shift of her eyes across the street and the row of occupied tables pointed out they were both in public. The look also proved that Harry's suspicions regarding a major cover-up were indeed true.

The woman cleared her throat, continuing in a hoarse whisper over her drink. 'Sometimes it's better _not _to go public.'

'Well GOKIA have proof, and you _know_ because you kept blocking it during the appeal. I could officially announce it! As in...playing devil's advocate that is.' Harry felt the need to clarify his thought experiment. There was enough tension between the two of them without the man purposefully inciting further conflict. 'A thought experiment to imagine what might happen.' Harry reiterated.

For a long moment Corey didn't say anything. She took a few sips and absorbed the London vibe as a plane buzzed overhead. The woman missed the city and her worry-free days as a student exploring the hidden spots of each borough. An elderly Asian tourist group shuffled past with their softscreens out, snapping photos of orange sunset forming silhouettes out the city's monuments. Harry watched his ex-wide shift uncomfortable in her seat.

Ever since the stunt revealing herself as Baba, images of Corey had hit mainstream media like a firestorm. Just like any other internet trend, it didn't last. However, Corey knew she'd had what in her profession was called an _overdose of exposure_. At this point, the woman was surprised people hadn't started recognising her in the street. She'd been plastered on the face of every major news site worldwide for the past fortnight.

'This chat isn't in the books as work.' Corey chewed on a lip. Given her public involvement in this case, she hadn't admitted this would in fact be her last assignment. 'You know, like those other _favours_ you bent my arm to get. It would be better if we kept much of this conversation to ourselves. I like to think we can still be friends. It's why I volunteered to be involved in directing your appeal-'

'Stop there a minute...you _volunteered_? This was your idea!'

The chubby businessman almost raised his voice, only managing to hold a lid on himself when a few eyes looked his way. A young couple on the next table allowing through a controlled and highly judgmental glance in his direction. Corey shared a similar glare. She put down her drink, leaning forward to speak. She waited for an inquisitive man with a couple of kids to pass by, casually wiping at an eye to cover her face.

'Beyond myself, nobody else knows that _you _know about it. **Gaia**...or whatever you call it...has been on the radar for years now and it's unfortunate that you managed to trigger some effects. We haven't seen anything like it. I recommend you never let slip what you know.'

'Why? Because it's uncontrollable? Because you have no idea how it became aware and what motives it has, if any?'

'Yes, yes, and yes.' Corey sighed, a hint of frustration underlying her tone, 'It's not something the world is ready for.

Harry rubbed at his chin. 'To the point you're willing to risk HORIZON and maybe even Britannica given the amount I support them? Crap. You're pulling-off one hell of a cover-up.'

Corey took a few moments to stew on that. She leant back on her chair, wiping away a strand of hair caught in the evening breeze. Her eyes settled on Harry opposite. The man was people-watching passing strangers. Harry's face was oddly peaceful, a low frown being the only thing suggesting there was a whirlwind of ideas spiralling beneath his wrinkled brow. Corey was one of the few people that never underestimated the intelligence of the rather unassuming man.

'So, what's the long term goal?' Harry took a sip from his glass, 'Or is that another thing you can't tell me?'

'Not my department. Anyhow, it's not a threat at the moment. I guess it's a matter of learning as much as they can about it. Pick up any signs it's actually _thinking_.'

'Huh. And suppress any indication that something like **Gaia **even exists.' Harry joked sourly. Corey grunted in agreement, taking a long sip of her drink. 'So that's it? Hidden in plain sight? You'd risk your cover and GOKIA's reputation just to keep this a secret?'

Harry didn't need to explain how ridiculous the situation was. By forcing the deletion of Baba, Britanica thought they were removing the only AI in existence. Only that wasn't entirely true, given Baba wasn't technically artificial but an adapted copy of a pre-existing human consciousness. The same technicalities could be applied to exDEV, though Baba had been significantly modified to work specifically within the HORIZON platform. In truth, the whole trial had been an attempt by whatever powers were in play to draw attention away from **Gaia**. It was like publicly hanging an innocent peasant to avoid the trial of the real criminal.

Harry thought it was disgusting. He could only wonder what the game looked like from above. Was anybody _truly_ pulling the strings? Was Corey and the security agency she worked for within Britannica (or even internationally) using him as a playing piece for some twisted game. Could the U.N. still be trying to shut down technological singularity which had now lasted for decades. Perhaps it was simply the paranoia of knowing that a machine like **Gaia** existed. How did Harry know it wasn't some cold computer intelligence manipulating all their lives like sprites in a game of The Sims.

'For now. We're buying ourselves time.' Corey replied at last. She leant back on her chair, brushing her fringe to the side. The chubby businessman opposite shook his head.

'Please tell me that the UN doesn't know about **Gaia**.'

'Wha...why would that make a difference?'

'Because they're idiots terrified of their own shadows,' Harry grumbled, 'And they've been fighting all of my ideas to the point that _immersion_ is now practically illegal and they're mutating bloody human hybrids to work in space. They'd rather create biological slaves than have poor people work via computers. It would give me piece of mind to know they're clueless about the whole fuckin' internet has become self-aware.'

'Uh...I don't know to be honest.' Corey admitted with a wry smile. Harry's increasingly hot-headed complaining diffused the seriousness of the situation. Following everything that had happened, the man didn't care as long as some kind of vengeance was served. Corey rolled her glass around with a finger, sloshing the contents as she spoke. 'But it doesn't matter. As long as machines don't think, they don't care. After the sustainability crises, exDEV and everything...the world's focus is on people, not technology.'

'And machines do not think.' Harry replied blandly. Corey nodded in a so-so manner.

They hadn't talked much after that.

The two finished their drinks, chatted about how glad they both were that the appeal was over, and made lame excuses about being elsewhere. Well, Corey did have a plane to catch. The woman stood and pushed in her chair, prompting Harry to do the same. Another couple were obviously loitering against the concrete levee opposite waiting for their space to clear. Corey paused, suitcase handle resting in one hand, taking a long look at Harry. He'd pushed his chair back under the table and tugged a laptop bag over his shoulder. For a long while they're eyes locked. It was as if all the years they'd spent apart, as much as together, seemed to fill the void between them. A buffer of failed love.

It was Harry who broke the silence. He rubbed at his chin, a sad smile crossing his face.

'Look after yourself Corey.'

'Yeah…' The woman regarded Harry for what she knew would be the last time, 'You too.'

And that was it. Harry didn't watch her go, plodding back to the nearest tube station with a odd void where his stomach should have been. The businessman caught a plane back to Jersey the next morning like nothing had happened. He didn't know whether he'd ever see Corey again. To be honest with himself, Harry didn't really care. He'd spent the last three weeks fighting his appeal with the self-proclaimed voice of Baba jumping in and out of proceedings. Corey had been scrutinised and whatever past the judges had found seemed sufficient to have her involved in the case. No doubt they'd been a few strings pulled somewhere.

Stepping back inside his Jersey property should have felt like a relief. However, Harry was too exhausted to feel anything; collapsing on his bed fully clothed to wake up ten hours later to the birds singing outside. He messaged into work so clarify he wouldn't be in for a couple of days, not even knowing whether it was the weekend already. One hot-shower later and he found himself at his kitchen table stewing over a weak coffee.

The down-side of such a stoic home was the lack of anything to divert his attention.

A late-morning walk was as much to waste time as to distract Harry from his worries. It had been years since he last dug up the grief buried deep inside his chest. Hell, Harry had buried enough emotion to form stratified layers of misery when he finally unearthed them. Perhaps it was closure to have Baba deleted? With her ended all Harry's ties with Corey and the antique past which his old relationship represented. The death of Baba, who had been so carelessly based around his ex-lover, brought a strange conclusion that the man found unexpected.

It was a dim, humid morning that shrouded the Jersey coastline. Brisk, clean wind cleared Harry' lungs as he walked the coastal path a stone's throw from his property. A narrow dirt trail followed the tops of the cliffs. It traced a route that encompassed the whole island and took four days to comfortably hike. For Harry, a couple of kilometers up to Ronez Point and back sufficed. Although it gave him time to think, the aging GOKIA chairman wasn't sure whether the walk helped him do anything other than worry.

Today was the deadline for Baba's deletion.

There was no grandeur to the event. Yana parked-up at Pinvale in her little electric run-around, crunching up the gravel path to the front door. The two of them sat down at the kitchen table, staring at each other over the oak work surface. Harry wrung his hands, waiting for the kettle to boil for a cup of tea. It might not have been a grandiose ceremony, but it was fitting. The _uploading_ process had been conceived and coded on a very similar kitchen table what felt like a lifetime ago.

'It's not your fault.'

Yana spoke clearly, blinking more than she should to prevent tears cascading from her eyes. The quirky programmer sighed, shoulders drooping as she bent down into her bag to pluck out an item folded within an old newspaper. The grief played itself across her whole body which dramatised the dejection she felt. Hands shaking, she unwrapped what turned out to be a photograph. Unlike Harry, Yana had a much closer relationship with AI.

'I was wondering where that had got to.' Harry rubbed his chin, eyeing the only possession he had which didn't have some sort of function. It was a picture of him and Corey pretty early-on during their engagement. He was fitter, slimmer, and actually smiling for a change. 'Why did you have it?'

Yana exhaled, 'It was your wedding gift.'

'Yeah…?' The chubby businessman wasn't sure what point Yana was trying to get across. 'From what I remember, you demanded I keep it in exchange for…for...'

'In exchange for creating Baba based on Corey.' Yana finished, drawing out her words. It was the slowest that Harry had ever heard her speak. The programmer turned the frame around, studying the picture herself, before proceeding to unclasp the hard back to the photograph.

'Hey!' Harry went to object, leaning forward but the woman was quicker. Yana snatched the frame away, pulling off the back fold-away stand and plucked the photo out roughly. Wiping at the table between them with a sleeve of her cardigan, she flipped the printed photograph upside down and slid it towards the man opposite.

Harry's flash of anger paled into a grumble of frustration as he looked down at what should have been the blank reverse side of his sole possession.

'What…' He couldn't believe his eyes. 'Fuck sake. You're telling me the whole time that Baba's shutdown command was scrawled over the back of this damn photograph?'

Yana actually smiled, though it seemed rather forced.

'Yep.'

In neat, black biro a short few lines of computer code, as well as a bullet-pointed explanation of where to type the code. A date was written underneath but Harry covered it with his thumb.

'And if I'd lost it? This is the only version of...of…how? Why this?'

'Because it would remind you of the real reason why we created Baba.' Yana explained, crossing her arms as she leant back in her chair. 'And the reason why you broke up...I guess.' She puffed out a breath, hovering on a moment of indecision before bending down to scoop up her laptop. Setting it down on the table, she opened the lid and rotated it around to face Harry.

'You do it.' Yana stuck out her chin, forcing a brave expression even as her eyes welled with tears.

'You….you sure?'

The half-Czech just nodded. Sniffing, she brushed a wild strand of ginger hair out of her face. Harry hesitated over the keyboard, eyeing the screen which was already showing the correct GOKIA command window. He paused over what was most likely the most securely encrypted personal computer in the world, eyes flicking from the laptop to the photo of his ex-wife.

'You've said your goodbyes?'

Yana nodded.

Ten minutes later and it was done. When it came down to the actual coding, the AI's final moments were somewhat underwhelming. Yana had discussed the result of the appeal in detail with Baba to find the computer intelligence was surprisingly accepting of the outcome. She'd spent a good deal of time revisiting her favourite places on the VR platform, enjoying the feeling of data streaming through her awareness, before gently switching processes back to manual configurations. Baba spent a significant amount of time with James, surprised at her own human-like need to be with friends. She was uncertain of the loneliness that James would feel when left to his own devices.

Harry typed in the code and hovered over the enter key.

He was expecting a confusing wash of regretful emotions but there was nothing. Only a sad acknowledgment that the AI's tortuous existence had been a result of his own imperfections. Stabbing a chubby finger down on the keyboard and the script ran within a millisecond, throwing up a confirmation box that the operation was complete.

They sat in stunned silence for a while. Yana dropped her head, staring at her feet. Neither needed to speak to convey the emotions they both felt. Harry made a cup of tea and the two of them moved to the living room, sitting in silence on either side of a leather sofa. They didn't speak, Yana wiping tears from her eyes every few minutes as Harry contemplated the now discarded photograph still lying on the kitchen table.

'You think James will want to do it?' Harry broke the silence. They'd been listening to a wren warbling outside, midday sunshine streaming through the open windows. 'Like, do a similar thing?'

Yana grunted but didn't say anything.

'You've already asked him, haven't you?'

'Might have.' The programmer shrugged. For a moment she studied her hands, a half-emptied fruit tisane discarded on the floor by her feet. 'It's complicated.'

'Ah.' Harry sunk back into his sofa, 'This is going to be about Richard, right?'

'Yep.'

The two simply sat in each-other's company for much of the afternoon, They'd hadn't shared much in conversation beyond small talk. Yana finally got up to leave only once the sun had moved and no longer shone through the bay windows. Harry wallowed in his thoughts.

The next week passed by surprisingly quickly. Harry didn't spend much time in the office, working through hundreds of emails from comfort at home. As chairman, his position at GOKIA was supposed to be involved in little more than big-picture decision-making...not whatever control-freak dabbling he did in every sector of his company. The whole systems science organising his company would have to be re-evaluated, given Britannica were shutting down most of his robotics facilities and exerting heavy pressure on legalities of his VR branches. The whole process was like a ridiculously complex puzzle of untangling the complex network by which the technology giant stayed afloat. To Harry it was just another game.

Damage control following the appeal had become so consuming that the businessman lost track of time. Only a calendar alert on his soft screen reminded him that he actually had anything booked in at work.

'Shit.' Eisenhower swore when he picked up the small tablet and swiped away a list of missed calls. Five minutes later and he rushed through a change of clothes, bolted down a glass of orange juice, and slammed the house door behind him. Getting into his tired estate car wasn't exactly graceful, but Harry managed to pull out of Pinvale Crescent within fifteen minutes and only a couple of miles faster than the speed limit.

One frantic commute later and Harry parked his car outside the GOKIA headquarters. Pocketing his car keys, he didn't even bother locking the company Telsa as he hurried up to the foyer. Given the man's size, it was a fast shuffle up the glass-fronted lobby area. Automatic doors slid open as hastily waved a greeting to the receptionist and headed for the stairwell. Even if his rigorous exercise plan had died a death, Harry had made a habit of always taking the stairs.

Four floors below ground and Harry pushed through two-sets of double doors into the frigid corridor. Thanks to a supercomputer at work, the whole floor was kept at a constant ten degrees. Tugging his jacket tighter around his large stomach, Harry plodded along to Yana's office at the far end of the hallway. For a second he paused at the doorway, his large fingers resting on the door handle. Puffing out a sigh, Harry settled the butterflies in his chest and nudged the door open.

The large office inside was dead silent. Harry knew he was late, but didn't realise he was _that_ late. Everyone had gathered at the far end of the room. Jean and Mark were leaning over the back of Yana's leather chair. Even Eva, the young Scott who had been adopted into the programmers' little family, was knelt next to the desk. Nobody even looked up as Harry slogged in, eye focused on a single computer monitor.

'How's it-?'

'Shuuuush!' Harry's greeting was cut short by an angry hush from Yana. She clicked on a mouse a few times, opening a white screen crammed full of rows of constantly refreshing computer checks. No wonder they got an AI to look at stuff. Harry couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching a scene from the Matrix.

Inching forwards, Harry shared a rueful grin with Eva before also turning his attention to the computer screen. For a few minutes they all waited in silence, Harry trying to understand exactly what they were looking for. He didn't remember anything like this happening in the past.

'Here.' Mark bent forward, prodding a finger towards a percentage at the base of the page, 'We're at eighty-percent. It's going to-!'

'Shush!' Yana snapped. The Half-Czech rubbed at her eyes before clicking a few more buttons. A new read-out revealed itself. This time, it was something Harry recognised. Mostly because he'd helped code the exact same program over twenty years ago. It was a ridiculously complex algorithm with which to re-combine neural brain scans to create digital replicas of human brain function. The program had birthed Baba, resurrected James Lovell, and now…

'That's it.' Yana confirmation made Harry jump, 'He's up.'

Eva traced her eyes across the motley bunch, expecting some form of celebration. It never came. They were foremost scientists. Jean leant forwards to scrutinise the confirmation screen. It was Mark that vocalised the remaining doubt.

'We sure he's taken? I mean, we had this four times with James before it worked…'

'I've got...Uh, I'm running the diagnostics now.' Yana replied in a small voice. Normally, such tasks would have been assigned to Baba. The AI would have predicted the need for such checks and have them ready before the eccentric programmer even needed to ask. Yana typed in the inquiries manually, Harry watching her navigate through menu screens he'd designed what felt like a lifetime ago. He doubted he still had the knowledge or commitment to even shadow such skills now.

Amidst the growing tension regarding the procedure, it was Eva who had the initiative to pull out her softscreen. Loading an old messaging app, she dropped a short sentence in James's inbox.

"_Richard should be in. Maybe check the PC?" _

"_Checking now" _The reply was instantaneous. Eva grinned, wondering just how much control the _uploader_ now had over the simulated digitised world. Though the young Scott had rather negative expectations of Harry (partly due to the court appeal unearthing some of businessman's less-desirable traits). It was begrudgingly that she respected how the man had set-up the next era of HORIZON. Sure, no AI's were allowed to run GOKIA systems...but there was nothing against legally-identified _uploaded _humans?

James's terms of acceptance regarding his new role were remarkably slim. In fact, there had only been one condition.

"_Ok. Definitely looking good."_ James messaged back thirty seconds later. Eva wondered if the _uploader_ was checking a simulated softscreen in much the same way she was. A shiver ran up the young woman's spine. This time, it wasn't from the cold air temperature in the office.

Mark was still pitched forward, squinting at the computer monitor. However, it was Harry who spoke,

'So...has it worked?'

'James says-' Eva spoke up, checking another message on her personal softscreen. 'Yeah. He's got Rich in the PC. Wanna-?'

'Getting it.' Yana splurged the words out, thinking faster than she could talk. Within a few seconds a new tab was open on the shared screen with a video feed trying to connect. Nobody commented on how it took a few seconds longer than normal without Baba to organise the stream. They waited patiently for the call to register inside of HORIZON.

James grumbled at his ringtone, glancing around the near-empty Pokecentre lobby before tugging his softscreen out of his pocket. He denied the video request, silencing the device before dropping it back into his jeans. Now wasn't the time for Yana's pestering.

The _uploader_ wrung his hands, returning his attention to the PC screen on the desk before him. A buffering circle spun on a black screen before suddenly, a classic white and red Pokeball rolled out the desktop computer like a slot machine. A loud ping announced that the retrieval was complete. James's hands practically shook as he picked up the ball.

'Come on bro…' He muttered under his voice, turning the Pokeball in his hands. He couldn't bear to wait any longer, pushing the release button. There was a loud click followed by a flash of blinding red light. The _uploader_ glanced away, too anxious to look back unless he found all his potential worries might have come true. The uploading process might have failed, or simply not preserved important aspects of his brother's personality. Richard might have been brainwashed or even driven crazy by the process. Given that James had helped adjust the software from _inside_ of HORIZON, he felt personally responsible if the slight adjustments turned out to be a disaster.

"_**Lie...Liepard?" **_A small, questioning mew broke the young man from his hesitation. James turned slowly to see the purple feline sitting on the floor before him. The Liepard blinked, staring around the Pokecentre lobby in apparent confusion. Sleek purple and yellow fur shone as the Pokemon twitched his muscles. At last, the Liepard's eyes settled on the trainer stood before him.

'Richard?' James tried, bending down to kneel in front of the Pokemon, 'You in there bro?'

The Pokemon shook, a jitter that ran down his spine to the tip of his purple tail. He rolled his shoulders before blinking again. The Leopard's pupils dilated and then narrowed to adjust to the man's face before his own. There was a second of absolute silence, James silently pleading for the recognition to materialise. Frowning, Richard wiggled his jaw as if uncertain of his own ability to speak.

'Jaaames?' He tried, tongue getting lodged between his sharp teeth. 'Wow...Uh…'

'Rich!'

James lunged forward to pull the yellow-spotted leopard Pokemon into a tight hug. In part, it was to stop the still delirious feline from toppling over. Richard froze within James's grasp, tensing his shoulders at the sudden contact. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened. The last thing Richard could remember was napping and having a completely random dream about strange cat-robots and...and being back in Jersey? Wait. Wasn't he still living in Jersey?

'You know who I am?' James asked, muffling his voice as he pressed his face into the shoulder of the feline. Richard could feel the moisture of tears on his fur. Wait...tears? Had the new Booples upgrades become good enough to simulate even moisture against his skin? Richard couldn't remember even getting inside his haptic feedback gear.

'Yooou're my, my brother. Of cooourse…'

Richard trailed off, finding vowels difficult using his muzzle. He nudged James, trying to push the man off with his short muzzle. Twitching his whiskers and he blinked a few more times, not sure why his vision was so unusual. Everything seemed to be in shades of blues and greens. That didn't stop him from seeing the tears that James was openly weeping. His brother was crying? But there was a smile on his face…?

'Uh, Jaaames? This is getting weird…' The Liepard tried to shuffle back but the young man's hug was like a vice grip. 'Wait. Since when could you understand me? Since...uh...you're not supposed to know that, that…it's me?'

James sighed, releasing the Pokemon before cheekily ruffling the fur on the Liepard's head.

'Well. There's a lot of explaining to do.'

'_**Liiiie…?'**_ Richard murmured, intending to prompt his brother to continue speaking but finding his muzzle naturally garble the thought into the throaty chirp of his Pokemon species.

'Well. You're the third ever _uploader_.'

* * *

END

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And thus marks the final chapter of Error! This turned out to be a longer chapter than I was expecting, but it wouldn't have made sense to break it into two. There's no real jargon to explain given this should wrap-up everything that's come previously! I've saved all my thank-you drabble for the epilogue. I rushed the editing somewhat, so apologies for any very obvious typos! Enjoy!


	21. Epilogue

[6570696c6f677565]

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"_...We do not realize what we have on Earth until we leave it…"_

**James Lovell**

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Timeline of Significant Events

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To summarise the worldbuilding that has been developed for this fiction, the following is a brief timeline of world events that have a significant impact on the overarching storyline.

2020 - Brexit

2022 - Scexit referendum and decision for Scotland to leave the UK

2025 - Quantum computing supremacy by Google verified

2026 - Ongoing imigration crisis accommodated by mass migration to France

2029 - Scotland joins the North Atlantic trading group with Scandinavia

2030 - Beginning of the 'Sustainability Crises' after the Saudi oil fields runs dry

2035 - Formation of Britannica by Wales, England, The Netherlands, and Brittany

2036 - Britannica recognised as an official independent state by the United Nations

2038 - End of the 'Sustainability Crisis' following the 'Net Zero' agreement

2044 - Singularity. Technological growth becomes irreversible with the creation of exDEV

2044 - Catalonian civil war

2045 - United Nations ban on AI

2049 - Birth of Baba designed by Harry and Yana

2049 - Belgium join the Britannica state

2050 - GOKIA founded

2050 - Legalisation of GOKA AI following protests

2051 - Ireland join the Britannica state

2052 - SONY Dreamcatcher VR headset is launched

2056 - Creation of Britannica Space Agency BSA

2064 - GOKIA launches technological hardware branch in Rotterdam, Netherlands

2068 - Construction of the 'Shackleton Circuit' orbital ring begins

2073 - James Lovell becomes the first official _uploader_

2073 - Shut down of Baba AI and negative sanctions against GOKIA

2074 - First permanent settlement on Mars

2075 - SONY Dreamcatcher II VR headset is launched

2075 - GOKIA information leak (?) makes immersion software free access

2076 - Creation of the first _spectre_ human hybrid for work in microgravity conditions

2079 - The 'Shackleton Circuit' is made an international project

2085 - SONY is bought out by GOKIA

2089 - Harry Eisenhower is replaced as Chairman of GOKIA by Eva Smith

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XXX

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This story can be thought as an AU precursor of my other fiction BLACKOUT, following some of the similar world events which I originally designed to act as the historical notes. If you liked the humour in this story, I'd recommend giving BLACKOUT a try. There are some small discrepancies which have developed from improvement of the history in later iterations. The concept of _Spectre_ has a lot of potential and might be something I run with again in future.

As for EOrRRoR itself, this ties up what has been a thoroughly enjoyable story to write. There won't be any more from Yana, Baba, James, Richard, Eva, or Harry...but the whole concept of VR is something I'll always be tempted to come back to. For now, I'll be working now to finish Fort Haste: Winter and bring that to a close in the following months. I'll then be on a planned hiatus from writing fanfiction to give myself some time to think over some new ideas.

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XXX

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A massive shout out to R'love (Just-A-Reader0Love) who has been the inspiration and motivation for this story. We've been working on this fiction together for a long while now and it's been great to have you as support and acting to proofread and advice on everything. You're a star.

A huge thanks for the following people nice enough to fav/follow this story and sticking with me with numerous delayed updates:

Abijay.n, AllKorean, anothername714, Animeloverdog, ARandomOne, Arazmas, Astropye, Bardothren, BIOHAZARD 04, Calvire, CanaryInTheCoalMine, CapnOblivious42, Cheetahpelt1, DefinitelyNotRed, Denkoy, Dingochameleon, dragonlord1510, dragonranger9811, dvd142, EvolvedEevee, FireShark101, Foxyjosh, Frozenshadow185, Gamerluna2212, Haeza-Ezren, HalcyonicOcean, HNosredna, jigsawsee, Johnathan-Mandrake, KadenCatDude, Kagami88, Kitlith, Leafe0n, mordaut, NanoCarp, Nespeon, Oblivion Wave Productions, OneDerpToRuleThemAll, Pcykosis, prof2, RayDanZ, Repenexus, Roasted-Potato, Secret-werewolves, Silicon42, Something dictionary related, StarDoor, SuperGokuDragonFist, Team Riptide, The FieryCharmeleon, TheMuteNanachi, The Walrein, Tv03co, Twebster900, VarroWayland, Wizpig1231, WordBirdNerd, X-Shadowheart,

And a huge thank you to everyone else who has graced this story with a read! We're well over ten-thousand views now and I'm humbled by the reception this fiction has had. As a crazy idea that got way out of hand, I'm continually humbled by your response. Thanks!

Enjoy!

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XXX


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